Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) Shares Purchased by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,879 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,993 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Vericel were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VCEL. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vericel by 4,126.7% during the third 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 raised 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 acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 22.2% in 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, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In related news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock worth $1,200,764. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Down 4.9 %

VCEL stock opened at $52.74 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 12 month low of $32.31 and a 12 month high of $57.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 924.65 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VCEL. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

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.