Natixis Invests $1.71 Million in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Natixis purchased a new stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,047 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,705,000. Natixis owned about 0.06% of Vericel as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vericel by 511.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Vericel by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,357 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vericel by 826.6% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Vericel by 82.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.86.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $39.42 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.37. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 657.11 and a beta of 1.61. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $37.76 and a 52 week high of $63.00.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related 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 directly owns 259,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This represents a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $67,693.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at $74,759.94. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,942 shares of company stock worth $2,724,548 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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