Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Holdings Cut by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,010,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 29,524 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 2.05% of Vericel worth $55,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VCEL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Vericel by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 571,194 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,364,000 after purchasing an additional 119,574 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in Vericel by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 38,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,097,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its position in Vericel by 83.6% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 106,064 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,819,000 after acquiring an additional 48,295 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 182,273 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,009,000 after purchasing an additional 7,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Creek Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vericel by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 351,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $19,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total value of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. This trade represents a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 1,092 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $67,693.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,092 shares of company stock worth $1,683,582. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (down from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.29.

Vericel Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $46.42 on Thursday. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $39.12 and a 12 month high of $63.00. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 773.80 and a beta of 1.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.71.

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.