18,088 Shares in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Purchased by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,088 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the third quarter worth about $92,000.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,960. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

VCEL stock opened at $55.83 on Wednesday. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $32.31 and a 1 year high of $57.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 930.66 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.74.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The firm had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. As a group, analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.14.

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.