Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 351,550 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 37.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 351,550 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 2.66% of Vericel worth $54,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,656,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Vericel by 6.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Vericel by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Down 1.7 %

VCEL traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.78. 20,310 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 426,050. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $44.81 and its 200 day moving average is $46.35. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $32.28 and a 12 month high of $54.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of -4,554.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VCEL shares. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.71.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $241,252.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,960. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.