Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 21,690 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 45.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,179 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,690 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 51.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 805 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 13.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 178.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $34.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.77 and a beta of 1.22. Vericel Corporation has a 1 year low of $29.24 and a 1 year high of $51.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.10.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $92.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.66 million. Vericel had a net margin of 5.98% and a return on equity of 5.17%. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vericel Corporation will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vericel from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Vericel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. 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, Vericel has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.50.

About Vericel

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.