The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,119 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Vericel were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 319.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vericel during the third quarter valued at $92,000.

Vericel Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ VCEL opened at $57.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 965.33 and a beta of 1.71. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. Research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul K. Wotton sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $152,672.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,045.44. The trade was a 8.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,266 shares of company stock valued at $2,090,636. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Vericel to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

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.