New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 874,932 Shares of Vericel Corporation $VCEL

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Vericel Corporation (NASDAQ:VCEL) by 98.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 874,932 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vericel were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Vericel during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vericel by 101.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vericel in the second quarter worth $60,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vericel by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vericel by 178.4% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCEL. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vericel in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Vericel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Vericel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vericel presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.50.

Vericel Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCEL opened at $35.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.11 and its 200-day moving average is $36.17. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.30 and a beta of 1.24. Vericel Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.24 and a 52-week high of $58.77.

Vericel Profile

Vericel Corporation is a biotechnology company specializing in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of cell-based therapies for patients with severe diseases and conditions. The company’s expertise lies in regenerative medicine, where it harnesses the power of autologous cell processing to create products designed to restore function and promote healing in damaged tissues.

Vericel currently markets two FDA-approved therapies. MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the knee in adult patients.