Sentry Investment Management LLC Takes $136,000 Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 54.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,383 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 44,507 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 10,340 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 6.5% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 462,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,502,000 after acquiring an additional 28,262 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vericel by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,339,960 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $83,326,000 after purchasing an additional 109,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 71,271 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 11,402 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock opened at $46.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -513.94 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $29.24 and a one year high of $53.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.68 and a 200-day moving average of $40.27.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.28 million. Vericel had a negative net margin of 1.61% and a negative return on equity of 1.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total value of $334,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,083,705.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,570.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.85, for a total transaction of $334,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,083,705.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,115,981 over the last 90 days. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vericel

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.