Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 661,018 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,803 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.36% of Vericel worth $30,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at about $566,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Vericel by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,459 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,171 shares during the period. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 204,344 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,277,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $40.05 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.38. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,005.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.18 and a fifty-two week high of $54.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The business had revenue of $52.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vericel news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $721,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,891.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,956,725. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

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.