Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 26.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,858 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 91,834 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.52% of Vericel worth $10,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 4,126.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 319.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.71.

Vericel Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $52.48 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.71. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $57.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 874.81 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $241,252.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $454,960. This represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.38, for a total value of $724,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 220,937 shares in the company, valued at $9,142,373.06. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,166 shares of company stock valued at $1,200,764. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.