Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Mesoblast shares jumped sharply, opening at $15.50 versus a prior close of $13.39, and last traded near $15.46.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Piper Sandler raised its price target to $39 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while the overall consensus remains “Hold” with a $39 average target.
• Mesoblast reported a quarterly loss of $0.07 per share on $34.45 million in revenue. Institutional ownership remains limited at 1.43%, although several funds—including Bank of America—recently increased their positions.

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $13.39, but opened at $15.50. Mesoblast shares last traded at $15.4610, with a volume of 191,318 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MESO. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $39.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Mesoblast in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Mesoblast from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Mesoblast in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mesoblast currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.00.

Mesoblast Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $15.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.47.

Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $34.45 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mesoblast Limited will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Mesoblast during the third quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mesoblast by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesoblast by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Mesoblast by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Mesoblast by 608.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 100,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 85,888 shares during the period. 1.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mesoblast Company Profile

Mesoblast Limited is an Australia-based biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing regenerative medicines made from specialized allogeneic mesenchymal lineage cells. The company's platform is designed to produce “off-the-shelf” cellular therapies intended to address inflammation, tissue damage and impaired healing without requiring cells to be collected from each individual patient.

Mesoblast's lead product, remestemcel-L, is marketed in the United States as RYONCIL.

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