Vericel Corp. (VCEL)

[MaineMan5]

Dilution is virtually assured for investors in small bio-tech so that should be no surprise to anyone investing in them. Dilution in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing in the medium to longer term. It's what the funds received are used for and how the company best utilizes them. If they are used to grow the company's product line, or expand their business and revenues (as opposed to paying payroll just to keep the company afloat), then the return can be far greater than the extra shares (which is what I'm hoping is the case here).

A big component with raises is executive history and trust. This management team so far has been spot on in terms of execution. They are conservative in their guidance as evidenced by the recent raise in revenue for the year. There is nothing to support that the purpose of the recent raise is to line executives' pockets. VCEL reported positive operating cash flow in Q1. Management still has my confidence at least until they show otherwise. If people want to invest only where there is no dilution, there are certainly larger, very profitable companies with which to do that.

While the first inclination is frustration and blaming management, in many cases these actions can greatly benefit shareholders (e.g TNDM), though typically not in the few days or weeks after a raise. I am not a trader so my perspective is in the medium to longer term, so I don't mind some dilution if the funds are eventually earmarked for something that tangibly benefits shareholders.

I wish I had the foresight you did to buy in the low $2s. I bought in after the MACI approval - mid $3's to $4 - and continue to hold, looking for great things to unfold over the next few quarters when they put those funds to use. GL