Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $94.55 and traded as high as $101.10. Mesa Laboratories shares last traded at $101.04, with a volume of 90,861 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Mesa Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $100.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $565.82 million, a PE ratio of 84.20 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by ($0.25). Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 20.96%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.31) EPS.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is 53.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 2,516 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $225,182.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,377 shares in the company, valued at $570,741.50. This represents a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $39,559.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,790. This trade represents a 17.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 30.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 432.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 842 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc NASDAQ: MLAB is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company's product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.

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