Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 98.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 226,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,169 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $8,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Vericel by 83.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 105,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,014,000 after buying an additional 47,673 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 459,334 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,289 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 600.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,184 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 5,301 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth approximately $589,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 26,447 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 9,717 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VCEL shares. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.40.

Vericel Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ VCEL traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.23. 152,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,053. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $29.24 and a 52-week high of $53.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -492.33 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.28 million. Vericel had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total value of $334,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,895 shares in the company, valued at $1,083,705.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total value of $334,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,083,705.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,115,981 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.