Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 139,605 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 758 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.28% of Vericel worth $7,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vericel by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,953,000 after purchasing an additional 30,180 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,100,000 after buying an additional 501,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,046,000 after buying an additional 12,062 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCEL. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.86.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $67,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. This represents a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,942 shares of company stock worth $2,724,548 over the last ninety days. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $41.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 687.28 and a beta of 1.61. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $37.76 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.32.

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.