Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ MLAB opened at $112.68 on Friday. Mesa Laboratories has a twelve month low of $82.86 and a twelve month high of $141.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $609.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.81.

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

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is -1.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at $5,213,794.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MLAB. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.0% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.