Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 16,500 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 112.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,180 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.06% of Vericel worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Vericel by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,775,000 after acquiring an additional 701,064 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $69,953,000 after buying an additional 30,180 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $69,100,000 after purchasing an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,046,000 after acquiring an additional 12,062 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 24,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 260,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,906,229.06. This trade represents a 8.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $67,693.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,034 shares of company stock worth $2,482,291 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of Vericel stock traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.02. 384,794 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,703. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 633.77 and a beta of 1.61. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $37.76 and a 12 month high of $63.00.

Vericel Profile

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.