Vericel Corporation $VCEL Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,961,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 31,607 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.83% of Vericel worth $78,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel in the second quarter valued at about $360,023,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vericel in the second quarter worth about $45,210,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vericel by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 844,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,173,000 after buying an additional 29,135 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter valued at about $24,463,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the second quarter valued at about $17,723,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vericel from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vericel from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Vericel Price Performance

Vericel stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 698,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,978. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.41. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $59.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.00 and a beta of 1.08.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.21. Vericel had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $85.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, insider Sean Flynn sold 15,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.92, for a total value of $778,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,990 shares in the company, valued at $103,320.80. This trade represents a 88.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.90, for a total transaction of $79,350.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,601.10. This represents a 54.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 49,008 shares of company stock valued at $2,701,078 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing cell therapies and other treatments for serious conditions. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company markets its products primarily in the United States. Its products include MACI, an implant made from a patient’s own cultured cartilage cells used to repair certain cartilage defects in the knee, and Epicel, a cultured skin graft used to treat patients with deep burns. Vericel also commercializes NexoBrid in the United States, an enzyme-based treatment for removing dead tissue from severe thermal burns.