LPL Financial LLC Has $3.27 Million Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,674 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 12,268 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Vericel worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VCEL. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at about $538,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 42,915 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,356,000 after buying an additional 7,625 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,528 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Vericel in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 66.3% in the 4th 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,942 shares of company stock worth $2,724,548. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.27. The company had a trading volume of 46,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,055. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $37.76 and a one year high of $63.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $48.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 687.11 and a beta of 1.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.86.

Vericel Company 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.