Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Trims Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC reduced its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 21,195 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned 0.21% of Vericel worth $3,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Vericel by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 40,163 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 15,304 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Vericel by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,231 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Vericel by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 57,286 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,557 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.94. 494,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 526,533. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $30.18 and a 12-month high of $53.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -521.50 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total value of $780,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,708,739.13. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $367,852.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,570.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total transaction of $780,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 195,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,708,739.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,267 shares of company stock valued at $2,450,996. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective 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. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40.

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.