Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 109,928 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 113% from the previous session's volume of 51,716 shares.The stock last traded at $98.27 and had previously closed at $98.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MLAB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $107.86 and a 200 day moving average of $123.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $559.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -276.80 and a beta of 0.86.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is -172.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 472 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $45,840.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,192.96. The trade was a 45.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 642 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 $62,351.04. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,249,448.80. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,053 shares of company stock valued at $296,507 in the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,677,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 191.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 151,862 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $20,026,000 after buying an additional 99,819 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 439.0% during the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 73,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,769,000 after buying an additional 60,186 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1,390.4% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,536,000 after buying an additional 32,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at $3,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

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.