Vericel Corporation $VCEL Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 93.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,711 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 254,066 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Vericel were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Formula Growth Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,210,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Vericel during the second quarter worth approximately $755,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Vericel during the second quarter worth approximately $2,998,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the second quarter worth $4,417,000.

Vericel Stock Up 1.2%

VCEL stock opened at $38.34 on Friday. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $49.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.58 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.57.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $77.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.70 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.40.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $220,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,714.20. This represents a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Vericel

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.