Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Trading Up 13.5% – Still a Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was up 13.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $137.16 and last traded at $137.16. Approximately 4,797 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 41,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MLAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mesa Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 11.1 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 111.89% and a positive return on equity of 18.95%. The firm had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.90 million. As a group, analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.38%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter valued at $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $183,000. Berry Wealth Group LP purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.