Walleye Capital LLC Invests $1 Million in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 175.4% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $44.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.04 and a beta of 1.06. Vericel Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $49.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.90.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The firm had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 target price on Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.40.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $603,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,225.87. This represents a 90.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $220,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,714.20. This trade represents a 80.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 52,232 shares of company stock worth $2,304,217 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

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.