Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Buys New Shares in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Vericel by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 51,827 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,846,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vericel by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,932 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $14,438,000 after acquiring an additional 11,074 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Vericel by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ VCEL traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 414,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,010. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 866.81 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.58. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $39.12 and a 1-year high of $63.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. The trade was a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 20,100 shares of company stock worth $1,206,072 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCEL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.14.

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.