Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 512,219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,126,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after acquiring an additional 400,667 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 8,020 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,613 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $563,000.

Vericel Stock Down 0.0 %

VCEL stock opened at $45.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 756.46 and a beta of 1.78. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $39.12 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vericel

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,092 shares of company stock worth $1,683,582 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.29.

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.