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

Premier Fund Managers Ltd reduced its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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 quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,768,000 after buying an additional 9,613 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at about $563,000.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,092 shares of company stock worth $1,683,582. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $44.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 741.79 and a beta of 1.78. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $39.12 and a 52 week high of $63.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VCEL shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.29.

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.