Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,576 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Vericel were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the third quarter valued at about $92,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 owns 27,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,045.44. This represents a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,266 shares of company stock worth $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VCEL. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.71.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL opened at $56.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.06. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $32.31 and a 1 year high of $61.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 944.83 and a beta of 1.71.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued 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 business had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Equities analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

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.