Cerity Partners LLC Trims Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,396 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 8,192 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.12% of Vericel worth $3,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VCEL. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 511.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vericel by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 826.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Vericel by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $11,902,662.66. This represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,942 shares of company stock valued at $2,724,548 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VCEL shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on 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 restated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.86.

Vericel Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VCEL traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 343,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 391,554. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $37.76 and a 52 week high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 687.28 and a beta of 1.61. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.32.

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.