Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Holdings in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 2,152.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,848 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Vericel by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Vericel by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,332 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 3,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $121,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 75,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,644,460. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Down 2.0%

VCEL stock opened at $34.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 81.60 and a beta of 1.15. Vericel Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.95 and a twelve month high of $45.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.98.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.03. Vericel had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 7.35%.The business had revenue of $68.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vericel Corporation will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VCEL. Weiss Ratings lowered Vericel from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Vericel from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.40.

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.