New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 30,717 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,060,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 30,717 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 2.22% of Vericel worth $37,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at $136,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.1% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,582 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the fourth quarter valued at $197,000. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at $216,000.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $169,046.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 3,278 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.57, for a total transaction of $169,046.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,206,480.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.67, for a total value of $781,725.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 194,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,704,842.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,567 shares of company stock worth $2,552,702. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock opened at $46.11 on Thursday. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $29.24 and a 1 year high of $53.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.52 and a 200-day moving average of $40.67.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $65.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.28 million. Vericel had a negative return on equity of 1.55% and a negative net margin of 1.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vericel Co. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vericel from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Vericel from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.40.

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.