Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Down 4.8% – What’s Next?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s stock price fell 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $141.01 and last traded at $137.84. 2,368 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 29,716 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MLAB. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $127.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.20. The company has a market capitalization of $766.39 million, a PE ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $57.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.60 million. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 107.56% and a positive return on equity of 28.52%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. State Street Corp raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,809,000 after purchasing an additional 18,128 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 191,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,722,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

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.