Citigroup Inc. Raises Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 5th, 2023

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL – Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.23% of Vericel worth $3,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the first quarter worth $41,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 174.3% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,668 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 31.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth $73,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Vericel from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vericel in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Stephens lifted their target price on Vericel from $39.00 to $42.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Vericel from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.25.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Vericel

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $38,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,297,061.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 1,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.84, for a total transaction of $38,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,395 shares in the company, valued at $1,297,061.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,238,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $33.88 on Tuesday. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $17.30 and a 1-year high of $39.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -116.83 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.85.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.02. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 6.90% and a negative net margin of 7.39%. The company had revenue of $45.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.14 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Vericel’s quarterly revenue was up 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post -0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vericel Company Profile

(Free Report)

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 the United States. 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; and Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns.