Mesoblast Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MESO)

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 3,838 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 350% compared to the average daily volume of 852 put options.

Institutional Trading of Mesoblast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mesoblast during the 2nd quarter worth about $562,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Mesoblast by 128.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in Mesoblast during the second quarter worth approximately $95,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of Mesoblast during the third quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Mesoblast by 15.0% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 11,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Mesoblast Trading Down 12.7 %

Shares of MESO opened at $14.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.48 and a 200-day moving average of $8.28. Mesoblast has a one year low of $1.61 and a one year high of $19.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MESO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mesoblast from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Maxim Group raised shares of Mesoblast from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mesoblast from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Mesoblast from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Mesoblast in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mesoblast currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.50.

Mesoblast Company Profile

Mesoblast Limited engages in the development of regenerative medicine products in Australia, the United States, Singapore, and Switzerland. The company offers products in the areas of cardiovascular, spine orthopedic disorder, oncology, hematology, and immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases. Its proprietary regenerative medicine technology platform is based on specialized cells known as mesenchymal lineage cells.