Aberdeen Group plc Has $21.03 Million Stock Position in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 583,884 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,018 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 1.15% of Vericel worth $21,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Vericel by 51.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Vericel by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,882 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 45,404 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its holdings in Vericel by 0.3% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 138,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,367,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.00.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $34.14 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $34.68 and its 200 day moving average is $35.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.13 and a beta of 1.20. Vericel Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $45.97.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. Vericel’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.