Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Bumped Up to "Strong-Buy" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Mesa Laboratories to “strong-buy” from “buy,” although three other analysts rate the stock “hold,” with an average price target of $110.
• Mesa Laboratories shares rose 2.5% to $132.55, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $60.14 million and earnings of $2.68 per share.
• Company insiders made notable purchases, including CEO Siddhartha Kadia’s approximately $800,000 acquisition, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.6% of the stock.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

MLAB has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.00.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:MLAB opened at $132.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $742.28 million, a P/E ratio of 157.80 and a beta of 1.06. Mesa Laboratories has a twelve month low of $66.56 and a twelve month high of $138.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 22.72%. The business had revenue of $60.14 million for the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director R Tripeny purchased 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $113.69 per share, for a total transaction of $102,321.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,298 shares in the company, valued at $716,019.62. The trade was a 16.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Siddhartha Kadia acquired 7,093 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $112.80 per share, with a total value of $800,090.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,090.40. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,321,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,507,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 144,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,352,000 after acquiring an additional 23,060 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 124,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,018,000 after acquiring an additional 8,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 125.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 115,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,515,000 after acquiring an additional 64,435 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc NASDAQ: MLAB develops, manufactures and sells products used for quality control, safety monitoring and process validation across healthcare, pharmaceutical, industrial and research markets. The company's offerings are designed to help customers monitor critical conditions and verify that sterilization, radiation exposure and other controlled processes meet established standards.

Mesa Laboratories' products include biological and chemical indicators, process challenge devices and related systems for sterilization monitoring.

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