Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $139.60 and last traded at $140.8960, with a volume of 78444 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $132.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLAB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Mesa Laboratories has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Up 7.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $797.13 million, a PE ratio of 168.60 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.58.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business had revenue of $60.14 million for the quarter.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, Director John Sullivan sold 7,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.80, for a total value of $800,090.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,011,675.20. The trade was a 28.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R Tripeny bought 900 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $113.69 per share, for a total transaction of $102,321.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,019.62. The trade was a 16.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 291.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 14,731 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,000 after buying an additional 10,965 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 110.0% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 523 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth approximately $241,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ:MLAB) develops, manufactures and sells products used for quality control, safety monitoring and process validation across healthcare, pharmaceutical, industrial and research markets. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers monitor critical conditions and verify that sterilization, radiation exposure and other controlled processes meet established standards.

Mesa Laboratories’ products include biological and chemical indicators, process challenge devices and related systems for sterilization monitoring.