Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 1,244 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,338 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Vericel worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCEL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Vericel by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Vericel by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vericel by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Vericel by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,866 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of Vericel stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,700. This trade represents a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. This trade represents a 34.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,666 shares of company stock valued at $1,350,764 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Stock Performance

Vericel stock opened at $58.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 977.00 and a beta of 1.66. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $32.31 and a 52 week high of $61.49.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. Research analysts forecast that Vericel Co. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.14.

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.