Fmr LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Fmr LLC cut its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,134,975 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 237,837 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $117,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Vericel by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 8,020 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted 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 worth $301,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 66,082 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $48,768,000 after buying an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth $185,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $156,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 have sold a total of 58,942 shares of company stock valued at $2,724,548 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL opened at $41.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 687.28 and a beta of 1.61. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Vericel

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.