Northern Trust Corp Buys 44,397 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 559,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 44,397 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.13% of Vericel worth $30,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Vericel by 145.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 111,527 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 66,082 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 33,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Vericel during the 4th quarter valued at $356,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 826.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $1,040,966.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,906,229.06. The trade was a 8.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $41.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 695.62 and a beta of 1.31. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $37.39 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.21.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.14). Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The firm had revenue of $52.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $53.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.86.

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.