Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $79.16 and traded as high as $82.50. Mesa Laboratories shares last traded at $81.13, with a volume of 99,075 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MLAB shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 1.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $447.84 million, a PE ratio of 126.77 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $86.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.16.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $65.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.23 million. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.02% and a net margin of 1.51%. Analysts forecast that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Christopher Capone bought 1,301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,331.35. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $261,804.15. This represents a 61.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Shiraz Shabanali Ladiwala bought 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.23 per share, for a total transaction of $252,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $615,616.29. The trade was a 69.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 6,116 shares of company stock worth $452,076. Corporate insiders own 4.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 86.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 213,376 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,752,000 after purchasing an additional 99,019 shares in the last quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,794,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 153,352 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,038,000 after buying an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 144,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,352,000 after buying an additional 23,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,973 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,145,000 after buying an additional 18,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ: MLAB) is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.