Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 9,613 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.34% of Vericel worth $48,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Vericel by 145.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 111,527 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 66,082 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel by 26.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,837,000 after buying an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Vericel by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 8,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,973,000.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total transaction of $724,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. The trade was a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens raised Vericel to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Vericel from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $61.14.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,788. The company's 50 day moving average is $52.04 and its 200 day moving average is $48.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 955.33 and a beta of 1.70. Vericel Co. has a 12-month low of $32.31 and a 12-month high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.03. Vericel had a net margin of 1.56% and a return on equity of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vericel 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.