SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 60.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,706 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 14,780 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Vericel were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vericel by 48.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vericel during the third quarter worth $92,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Vericel during the third quarter valued at $146,000.

Insider Activity at Vericel

In other Vericel news, insider Jonathan Mark Hopper sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $587,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,545.12. This represents a 14.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,700. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,008 shares of company stock worth $1,132,129 over the last three months. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VCEL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Vericel from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vericel currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.14.

Vericel Price Performance

Shares of VCEL stock opened at $58.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.81. Vericel Co. has a one year low of $39.12 and a one year high of $61.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 975.83 and a beta of 1.72.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.32 million. Vericel had a return on equity of 1.48% and a net margin of 1.56%. On average, research analysts expect that Vericel Co. will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.