Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 2,948 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,528 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Vericel were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Vericel in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 511.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,265 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Vericel by 826.6% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Vericel during the third quarter valued at about $146,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Vericel by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,707 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 259,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Siegal sold 3,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 1,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,759.94. The trade was a 76.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,683,582. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Vericel Stock Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $44.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 741.79 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.23 and a 200 day moving average of $51.79. Vericel Co. has a 52 week low of $39.12 and a 52 week high of $63.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VCEL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Vericel in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.29.

Vericel 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.