Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Lowers Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 114,990 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the quarter. Vericel comprises about 1.3% of Lisanti Capital Growth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned 0.24% of Vericel worth $5,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 509.1% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 836,481 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $43,514,000 after purchasing an additional 699,147 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,782,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 43.6% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 679,165 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,330,000 after acquiring an additional 206,202 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 61.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,488 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,354,000 after purchasing an additional 155,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Vericel during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,538,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total value of $67,568.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.40, for a total transaction of $899,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,356,161.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 1,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.84, for a total transaction of $67,568.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,324.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,791 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,269 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of VCEL traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.65. 277,841 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 285,252. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -5,159.84 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.54. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). Vericel had a return on equity of 0.35% and a net margin of 0.37%. The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright boosted 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. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.75.

Vericel Profile

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.