Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases Shares of 12,000 Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCEL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vericel by 214.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 587,857 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,837,000 after purchasing an additional 400,667 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Vericel by 40.0% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,073 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,053 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,768,000 after purchasing an additional 9,613 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vericel in the third quarter valued at approximately $563,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 4.6% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,048 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,590,000 after purchasing an additional 47,108 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,662,187.50. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,356,072 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.14.

Vericel Price Performance

VCEL stock opened at $57.78 on Thursday. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $39.12 and a one year high of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 963.16 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.48.

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.