Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $115.52 and last traded at $114.1010, with a volume of 49600 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MLAB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Mesa Laboratories presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 6.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $593.82 million, a P/E ratio of 126.24 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $100.64 and a 200-day moving average of $95.97.

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

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $253,016.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,770,757.50. This trade represents a 12.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on 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 $180,790. This represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 over the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 1.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 30,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the first quarter worth about $335,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 3.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 19,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 1.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.