Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 234 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,803 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Vericel during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vericel by 511.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth $92,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Vericel during the 3rd quarter worth $146,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VCEL. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (down from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.29.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $47.18 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $39.12 and a one year high of $63.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average is $51.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 786.46 and a beta of 1.78.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,662,187.50. This represents a 8.59 % 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, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,092 shares of company stock worth $1,683,582 in the last 90 days. 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.