Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $15.55, but opened at $14.49. Mesoblast shares last traded at $14.36, with a volume of 41,042 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mesoblast in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Mesoblast Trading Down 9.0%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.43 and a beta of 2.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory George bought 4,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.42 per share, with a total value of $5,680,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,040,000. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 9,892,852 shares of company stock worth $28,429,183 over the last three months. 18.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mesoblast in the fourth quarter worth $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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Mesoblast by 55.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mesoblast during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Mesoblast in the 4th quarter worth about $89,000. 1.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.