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

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 559,442 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,397 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Vericel were worth $30,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $41.73 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $37.39 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.19 and its 200 day moving average is $51.21. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 695.62 and a beta of 1.31.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $52.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.86 million. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. Vericel’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This represents a 9.28 % 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 link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

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.