Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Still a Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 95,975 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 106% from the previous session's volume of 46,548 shares.The stock last traded at $99.54 and had previously closed at $97.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MLAB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $535.03 million, a PE ratio of -264.84 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $109.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.31.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Mesa Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently -172.97%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In other news, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $62,351.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,249,448.80. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $45,840.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 558 shares in the company, valued at $54,192.96. This represents a 45.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,053 shares of company stock valued at $296,507. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 501.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 427 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth about $67,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 661 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth about $132,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.