Regenerative medicine specialist Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has announced that its Japanese development partner JCR Pharmaceuticals Ltd has received regulatory approval in Japan for its regenerative medicine product to treat acute Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD).
Under its agreement with JCR Pharmaceuticals, Mesoblast is entitled to receive milestone payments on regulatory approvals as well as royalties on sales. Mesoblast has several other clinical trials at varying stages of progression all aimed at promoting the efficacy of its regenerative medicine in treating a wide variety of common medical conditions.
Once a golden child of the broker community the stock hit a frothy high of $9.67 back in October 2011 largely on the back of some wild enthusiasm from analysts over its earnings potential.
After four rather disappointing years the stock has slipped to $3.32 today, but still retains a market cap of $1.1 billion based largely on its potential.
Several brokers have revised their valuations of the business following the news from Japan, with Bell Potter assigning a price target of $8.91, while New York-based broker Maxim Group has come out with a bullish $14 price target.
Investors should tread carefully though as one of Australia's strongest healthcare research teams at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) remain bearish with a $2.50 price target.
The analysts at Macquarie noting that Mesoblast's GvHD product was approved in New Zealand and Canada back in 2012, but since then sales have been disappointing in its opinion.
The wide range of 12-month broker price targets from $2.50 to $14 goes to show why you should never place much emphasis on short-term estimates from brokers of varying credibility.
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