Insider Buying: Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) Director Acquires 2,324,072 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Gregory George purchased 2,324,072 shares of Mesoblast on April 10 at an average price of $1.48 per share for a total of $3.44 million, bringing his ownership to 8,324,072 shares (a 38.73% increase).
• These were part of a series of sizable insider buys earlier in April, including 4,000,000 shares on April 4 at $1.42 and 1,981,890 shares on April 9 at $8.59, per the SEC filing.
• For context, Mesoblast shares traded at $15.00 (market cap ~$1.94B) with recent quarterly EPS of ($0.16) and analysts’ consensus around a Hold rating and a full-year EPS forecast of about -0.7.

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) Director Gregory George acquired 2,324,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.48 per share, with a total value of $3,439,626.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,324,072 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,626.56. The trade was a 38.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Gregory George also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 9th, Gregory George acquired 1,981,890 shares of Mesoblast stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.59 per share, with a total value of $17,024,435.10.
• On Saturday, April 4th, Gregory George acquired 4,000,000 shares of Mesoblast stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.42 per share, with a total value of $5,680,000.00.

Mesoblast Stock Performance

MESO traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.00. 200,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 282,594. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.78 and a beta of 2.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.65 and a 200 day moving average of $16.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Mesoblast Limited has a 52 week low of $9.75 and a 52 week high of $21.50.

Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $25.67 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mesoblast Limited will post -0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Mesoblast during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Mesoblast by 30.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Mesoblast by 55.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mesoblast during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mesoblast during the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Mesoblast in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mesoblast presently has an average rating of "Hold".

About Mesoblast

Mesoblast Limited is a global leader in allogeneic cellular medicines, focused on developing treatments for inflammatory and immunologic diseases. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Silviu Itescu, the company builds on proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell technology to create off-the-shelf, donor-derived therapies. These therapies are designed to modulate immune responses and promote tissue repair in conditions where existing medical options are limited or ineffective.

The company's most advanced product, Alofisel® (darvadstrocel), has been approved in Europe for the treatment of complex perianal fistulas in adults with Crohn's disease.

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