Vericel Corporation $VCEL Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 68.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,469 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 20,582 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 247,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $7,956,000 after buying an additional 5,489 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 20,888.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 256,688 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after buying an additional 255,465 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 120,236 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,868,000 after buying an additional 48,056 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,463,312 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,245,000 after buying an additional 208,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Vericel from $42.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $45.05 on Monday. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $48.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 107.26 and a beta of 1.07.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $68.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.Vericel’s revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,402.75. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,885. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,732 shares of company stock worth $2,084,167. 7.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vericel 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.