Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 7,383 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd cut its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,705 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,383 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Vericel were worth $592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Vericel by 214.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Vericel by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vericel in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $563,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VCEL. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.29.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $44.50 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $39.12 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 741.79 and a beta of 1.78.

Insider Activity

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $156,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,582. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vericel Company 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.