Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Down 7.7% – Should You Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s share price dropped 7.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $120.07 and last traded at $123.80. Approximately 5,496 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 41,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Mesa Laboratories from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 12.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.26 and a 200-day moving average of $114.55. The company has a market capitalization of $637.78 million, a P/E ratio of -2.89 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. On average, research analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.38%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at $5,213,794.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 44.1% in the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 22,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 6,766 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 66.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

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.