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

Shares of Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.80, but opened at $20.81. Mesoblast shares last traded at $21.12, with a volume of 159,945 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Mesoblast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Maxim Group upgraded Mesoblast from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Mesoblast from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mesoblast from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Mesoblast Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesoblast

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

About Mesoblast

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.