Castleark Management LLC Cuts Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Castleark Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 78,020 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 64,040 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $3,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $100,251,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,075,730 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $87,700,000 after acquiring an additional 34,360 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Vericel by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,291,720 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,575,000 after acquiring an additional 351,550 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,660,000 after acquiring an additional 420,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Vericel by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,590,000 after purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the period.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $56.37 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $32.31 and a one year high of $61.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 939.50 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. Analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Company 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.