New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 7,762 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 854,902 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,762 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vericel were worth $46,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vericel by 0.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Vericel by 22.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 8.0% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,356,072. Company insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Trading Up 0.9 %

Vericel stock opened at $57.78 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 963.16 and a beta of 1.72. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $39.12 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

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.