Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) Director Gregory George Purchases 4,000,000 Shares

Key Points

• Director Gregory George acquired 4,000,000 Mesoblast shares on April 4 at an average price of $1.42 (~$5.68M), boosting his holdings to 12,000,000 shares (a 50% increase); he also bought 1,981,890 shares on April 9 (avg $8.59) and 2,324,072 shares on April 10 (avg $1.48).
• Mesoblast stock rose about 3.1% to $15.00, giving the company a market cap near $1.94 billion, while analyst coverage is mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a recent Weiss Ratings "sell."
• Mesoblast is a developer of allogeneic cellular medicines, and its most advanced product, Alofisel® (darvadstrocel), is approved in Europe for complex perianal fistulas in adults with Crohn’s disease.

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) Director Gregory George acquired 4,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, April 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.42 per share, for a total transaction of $5,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,000,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,040,000. This represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Friday, April 10th, Gregory George acquired 2,324,072 shares of Mesoblast stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.48 per share, for a total transaction of $3,439,626.56.
• On Thursday, April 9th, Gregory George acquired 1,981,890 shares of Mesoblast stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.59 per share, for a total transaction of $17,024,435.10.

Mesoblast Stock Up 3.1%

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

Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $25.67 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Mesoblast Limited will post -0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Mesoblast in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesoblast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the 4th quarter valued at about $479,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mesoblast by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 11,242 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the 4th quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, Opal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.43% of the company's stock.

Mesoblast Company Profile

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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