Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,932 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,074 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of Vericel worth $14,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.8% in the fourth 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Vericel by 8.0% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period.

Vericel Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $52.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.76. Vericel Co. has a 52-week low of $39.12 and a 52-week high of $63.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 880.98 and a beta of 1.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $242,256.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,759.94. This trade represents a 76.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,100 shares of company stock worth $1,206,072 over the last 90 days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vericel Company 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.