Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . 255,936 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 76% from the previous session’s volume of 145,662 shares.The stock last traded at $104.31 and had previously closed at $101.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $605.85 million, a PE ratio of 90.91 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.72.

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

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 2,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $225,182.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,741.50. This trade represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,785 shares in the company, valued at $1,770,757.50. This represents a 12.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 802.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 31,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 28,100 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,973 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,145,000 after buying an additional 18,592 shares in the last quarter. Irenic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,962,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 60,724 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,767,000 after buying an additional 6,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,530,000. 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.