Truist Financial Corp Increases Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,827 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Vericel were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 262,932 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,438,000 after acquiring an additional 11,074 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,847,000 after acquiring an additional 162,419 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vericel during the 4th quarter worth about $261,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCEL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.14.

Vericel Trading Up 0.4 %

VCEL stock opened at $52.52 on Wednesday. Vericel Co. has a twelve month low of $39.12 and a twelve month high of $63.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 875.48 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.75.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,427,545.12. The trade was a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. This represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,072. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vericel Profile

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.