Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Stock Holdings in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 93.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,711 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 254,066 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Vericel were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VCEL. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,580,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $56,931,000 after acquiring an additional 290,795 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Vericel by 19.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,098,771 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,347,000 after purchasing an additional 180,761 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel during the second quarter worth about $5,356,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth about $2,230,000. Finally, Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter worth about $9,757,000.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock opened at $38.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.58 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.57. Vericel Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $49.32.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 7.91%.The business had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.40.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total transaction of $223,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,009 shares in the company, valued at $716,402.75. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 52,232 shares of company stock worth $2,304,217 in the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vericel Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.