Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Trading Down 6% – Here’s Why

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares dropped 6% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $106.74 and last traded at $106.4250. Approximately 113,276 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 148,052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLAB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mesa Laboratories from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $594.73 million, a PE ratio of 126.04 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.90.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $60.14 million for the quarter. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 22.87%.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 2,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $225,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,377 shares in the company, valued at $570,741.50. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 213,376 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,752,000 after buying an additional 99,019 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $17,321,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,507,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 153,352 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 144,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,352,000 after acquiring an additional 23,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.