Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $93.05 and traded as high as $97.96. Mesa Laboratories shares last traded at $94.95, with a volume of 164,633 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mesa Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.05. The stock has a market cap of $524.12 million, a P/E ratio of 79.12 and a beta of 0.93.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $63.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.21 million. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 20.96%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.31) EPS.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mesa Laboratories

In other news, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $253,016.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,785 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,757.50. This trade represents a 12.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $39,559.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,790. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 8,277 shares of company stock valued at $770,122 in the last three months. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.