Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 25,070 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 32,768 shares.The stock last traded at $137.99 and had previously closed at $144.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $757.39 million, a PE ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.66. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 30.23% and a negative net margin of 104.92%. Equities analysts expect that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is -1.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 34.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Amundi raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other 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.