Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Invests $17.72 Million in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 398,365 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,723,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Vericel during the second quarter worth about $5,144,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,158,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vericel in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $52,714.20. The trade was a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.40.

Vericel Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $42.30 on Tuesday. Vericel Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.95 and a 12-month high of $49.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.00 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.18.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.70 million. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.