StockNews.com Upgrades Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) to “Buy”

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of MLAB stock opened at $118.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.27. Mesa Laboratories has a 12 month low of $82.86 and a 12 month high of $141.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $640.81 million, a PE ratio of -2.55 and a beta of 0.87.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 111.89% and a positive return on equity of 18.95%. Analysts forecast that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 22,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 6,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 194,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,324,000 after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.