Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $851,000 in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $851,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned 0.05% of Vericel at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,582 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $197,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth $257,000.

Vericel Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $46.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of -511.61 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $30.16 and a twelve month high of $53.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.78.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.08. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 1.61%. The company had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.28 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. TheStreet raised Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.40.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total transaction of $101,706.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,034,526.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total value of $169,046.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,300 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.22, for a total value of $101,706.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,526.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,567 shares of company stock worth $2,552,702 in the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vericel

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.