Westover Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,322 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,281 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Vericel by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,372,812 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,251,000 after buying an additional 22,461 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake 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 worth $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $69,953,000 after purchasing an additional 30,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 61.4% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,104,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,660,000 after purchasing an additional 420,078 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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 $51.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 852.48 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.93. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $39.12 and a 1 year high of $63.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $242,256.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,759.94. This represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel 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 directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,662,187.50. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $466,200 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

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.