Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 17,258 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 451,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,258 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.91% of Vericel worth $24,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Vericel by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,404,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,367 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Vericel by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Vericel by 4.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.78, for a total transaction of $1,217,381.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 259,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,902,662.66. This represents a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,759.94. This represents a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,092 shares of company stock worth $1,683,582 in the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (down from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vericel currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.29.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $46.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 771.80 and a beta of 1.78. Vericel Co. has a 1-year low of $39.12 and a 1-year high of $63.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.15 and a 200 day moving average of $51.78.

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.