Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) Shares Pass Below Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Mesoblast Limited (NASDAQ:MESO) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.04 and traded as low as $13.70. Mesoblast shares last traded at $13.95, with a volume of 260,170 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Mesoblast in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Mesoblast Trading Down 6.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.83 and a beta of 2.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.38.

Insider Activity at Mesoblast

In other news, Director Gregory George purchased 2,324,072 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.48 per share, for a total transaction of $3,439,626.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,324,072 shares in the company, valued at $12,319,626.56. This represents a 38.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have bought 9,892,852 shares of company stock worth $28,429,183 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesoblast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,209,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the second quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mesoblast in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Mesoblast by 5.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Mesoblast by 55.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mesoblast

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.