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 company. This represents an increase of approximately 350% compared to the average daily volume of 852 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesoblast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in shares of Mesoblast in the second quarter valued at about $80,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the second quarter valued at approximately $95,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Mesoblast in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Mesoblast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mesoblast by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 53,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Mesoblast Trading Up 36.8 %

NASDAQ MESO opened at $16.76 on Friday. Mesoblast has a 12-month low of $1.61 and a 12-month high of $19.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.