Barclays PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 145.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,527 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,082 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.23% of Vericel worth $4,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Vericel by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vericel in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vericel by 9.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other Vericel news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $152,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Vericel Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Vericel stock traded up $1.55 on Friday, reaching $56.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 720,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,941. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.27. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $61.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 941.82 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

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.