Bessemer Group Inc. Increases Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 3,178.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,129 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,820 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Vericel were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 511.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vericel by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 826.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $242,256.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $1,040,966.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 260,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,906,229.06. This represents a 8.71 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of VCEL stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.90. 40,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,645. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 682.70 and a beta of 1.61. Vericel Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.76 and a fifty-two week high of $63.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.