Scholtz & Company LLC Invests $2.29 Million in Vericel Corporation $VCEL

Scholtz & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 51,409 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,287,000. Vericel comprises 1.1% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 2nd quarter worth $360,023,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Vericel by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,163,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $113,933,000 after acquiring an additional 356,680 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vericel by 3,959.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,485,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $110,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424,423 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.3% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,463,312 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,245,000 after acquiring an additional 208,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,222,107 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $80,018,000 after acquiring an additional 11,178 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VCEL shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vericel from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $450,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 75,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,408,885. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 4,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.90, for a total value of $220,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,714.20. The trade was a 80.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 52,232 shares of company stock worth $2,304,217 over the last ninety days. 7.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vericel Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $38.99 on Thursday. Vericel Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $49.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.96 and a beta of 1.04.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. Vericel had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The company had revenue of $77.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. Vericel’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vericel Corporation will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Vericel Company 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.