JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 28,009 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 451,620 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 28,009 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $19,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Vericel by 1.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 144,572 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,633,000 after buying an additional 2,297 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 51.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 611,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,039,000 after acquiring an additional 207,714 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Vericel by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,826,000.

Vericel Trading Up 2.5 %

VCEL opened at $59.53 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $34.36 and a 12 month high of $61.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.50. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 992.33 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $241,252.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,960. The trade was a 34.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,433 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,275 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.14.

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.