Next Century Growth Investors LLC Purchases 1,897 Shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL)

Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vericel Co. (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 525,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the quarter. Vericel comprises approximately 2.2% of Next Century Growth Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned approximately 1.07% of Vericel worth $28,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Vericel by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,454,139 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $79,847,000 after buying an additional 162,419 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vericel by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,288,921 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,775,000 after purchasing an additional 701,064 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vericel by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,273,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,953,000 after purchasing an additional 30,180 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,258,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $69,100,000 after purchasing an additional 501,736 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vericel by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,046,000 after buying an additional 12,062 shares in the last quarter.

Vericel Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Vericel stock opened at $41.25 on Friday. Vericel Co. has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $63.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.42. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 687.61 and a beta of 1.61.

Insider Transactions at Vericel

In other news, CEO Dominick Colangelo sold 26,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 owns 259,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,902,662.66. The trade was a 9.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Md Zerbe sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $156,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,662,187.50. The trade was a 8.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,942 shares of company stock valued at $2,724,548 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VCEL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Vericel in a report on Friday, February 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vericel from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vericel from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Vericel in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.86.

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.