State Street Corp Holds $102.65 Million in Vericel Co. Shares

State Street Corp has recently made adjustments to its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL). According to the latest Form 13F filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the corporation has reduced its share position by 2.2% during the third quarter. Following this reduction, State Street Corp now possesses a total of 2,429,558 shares in the biotechnology company. This indicates that they have sold off 55,227 shares during the specified period. As of the latest filing, the fund's holdings in Vericel are valued at approximately $102,649,000, making up about 4.92% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Additionally, several other investment firms and hedge funds have recently altered their positions in Vericel. For instance, Geneva Capital Management LLC expanded its holdings by a notable 61.4% in the same quarter, acquiring an additional 420,078 shares to reach a total of 1,104,386 shares, valued at around $46,660,000. Similarly, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake by 37.4%, resulting in ownership of 1,291,720 shares worth approximately $54,575,000 after purchasing an additional 351,550 shares.

Other notable changes include Federated Hermes Inc., which upped its holdings by 34.9% to own 840,787 shares valued at $38,575,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC experienced a 54.8% increase in shares, totaling 590,145 valued at about $24,934,000. Meanwhile, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position by 51.5%, owning 611,146 shares worth around $28,039,000 after an additional purchase of 207,714 shares.

Insider Transactions

In recent insider news, Jonathan Mark Hopper, a key insider at Vericel, sold 10,000 shares of his stake on December 2nd for an average price of $58.72, which amounted to a transaction value of $587,200. Following this sale, Hopper now directly holds 58,371 shares, approximately valued at $3,427,545. This sale represents a reduction of 14.63% of his ownership. Moreover, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares on December 4th, also for an average of $58.72, totaling $152,672. After this transaction, Wotton retains 27,402 shares, valued at about $1,609,045. Recent insider activity indicates that a total of 44,266 shares have been sold over the last three months, equivalent to $2,090,636. Currently, insiders own 5.20% of the stock.

Analyst Recommendations

Research analysts have been discussing Vericel in various reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a target price of $60.00 on November 19th. On November 26th, BTIG Research raised its target for Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00, maintaining a "buy" rating. In contrast, StockNews.com downgraded the stock from "hold" to "sell" on Thursday. On December 2nd, Stephens changed its rating to "strong-buy." Finally, HC Wainwright also confirmed a "buy" rating, setting a target price of $60.00 on November 8th. Overall, one analyst has a sell rating, six have buy ratings, and one has a strong-buy rating for Vericel, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from MarketBeat, with an average target price of $59.71.

Current Stock Performance

As of Monday, the stock for Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) opened at $57.47. The company maintains a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, with a P/E ratio of 957.83 and a beta of 1.71. Over the past twelve months, Vericel's stock reached a low of $32.31 and a peak of $61.49. The company currently possesses a 50-day moving average of $50.23 alongside a 200-day moving average of $47.94.

In its most recent earnings report on November 7th, Vericel announced earnings per share of ($0.02), which outperformed the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The firm recorded revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, exceeding the anticipated $55.32 million. Additionally, Vericel posted a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. Analysts predict that Vericel will achieve an EPS of 0.13 for the current fiscal year.

Background on Vericel

Vericel Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of cellular therapies specifically for sports medicine and severe burn care markets within North America. The company markets products such as MACI, which is utilized for the reconstruction of knee cartilage defects, and Epicel, serving as a permanent skin replacement for patients with severe burns. Additionally, the company offers NexoBrid, developed for the removal of eschar in patients with deep partial-thickness burns.

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