Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 512,219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,126,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 1.04% of Vericel at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 40.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 8,020 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 145.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 111,527 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,712,000 after purchasing an additional 66,082 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter worth $185,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,942 shares of company stock valued at $2,724,548 in the last three months. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of VCEL opened at $41.23 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $37.76 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.75 and a 200-day moving average of $51.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 687.28 and a beta of 1.61.

Vericel Profile

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.