TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Makes New $24.46 Million Investment in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 549,846 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,463,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Vericel by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,445 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 371,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $16,576,000 after buying an additional 44,333 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 123,028 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after buying an additional 10,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in Vericel by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 277,253 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,797,000 after buying an additional 13,422 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VCEL. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on Vericel in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $220,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,714.20. This represents a 80.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph Anthony Mara, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $223,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,402.75. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,232 shares of company stock valued at $2,304,217. 7.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 92.75 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.95. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.95 and a 52-week high of $49.32.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.70 million. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. Analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.