Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $430,000 Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,079 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Vericel were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 98.5% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 226,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,048,000 after acquiring an additional 112,169 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Vericel by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 560,419 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,957,000 after acquiring an additional 97,952 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Vericel by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,399 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $136,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Vericel during the fourth quarter worth $851,000.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $47.08 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.24 and its 200-day moving average is $41.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of -523.05 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $30.18 and a 52 week high of $53.05.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $65.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.28 million. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 1.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total value of $780,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,307 shares in the company, valued at $8,708,739.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Sean C. Flynn sold 8,115 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total value of $367,852.95. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 167 shares in the company, valued at $7,570.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.59, for a total value of $780,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 195,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,708,739.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,267 shares of company stock worth $2,450,996 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

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.