Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Up 9.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) were up 9.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $110.22 and last traded at $110.22. Approximately 49,714 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 41,432 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MLAB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $592.36 million, a P/E ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,213,794.56. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction 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. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,809,000 after acquiring an additional 18,128 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 191,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,722,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.