Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Bought by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,307 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Vericel worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel in the 4th quarter worth about $28,126,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted 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 worth $69,100,000 after buying an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.6% during 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. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,973,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (down from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.29.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $47.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.75. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $39.12 and a 52 week high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 799.47 and a beta of 1.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,582 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

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.