Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research has upgraded Mesa Laboratories from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, signaling a shift in analysts' outlook on the company's stock.
• Mesa Laboratories currently has an average price target of $113.50 and is considered to have a mixed rating with one analyst rating it as a buy and two as hold.
• Insider transactions revealed that CEO Gary M. Owens and CFO John Sakys both sold shares recently, reducing their ownership stakes by 4.06% and 4.75%, respectively.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Free Report) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday, August 18th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MLAB. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.50.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

Mesa Laboratories stock traded down $1.1050 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.8550. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,227. Mesa Laboratories has a 1-year low of $55.45 and a 1-year high of $155.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.22. The company has a market cap of $395.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -513.25 and a beta of 0.83.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Mesa Laboratories's payout ratio is -457.14%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, CFO John Sakys sold 642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 12,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,249,448.80. The trade was a 4.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 1,939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total transaction of $188,315.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 45,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,426.88. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,053 shares of company stock valued at $296,507. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 191.8% during the fourth 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. increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 439.0% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 73,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $8,769,000 after buying an additional 60,186 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1,390.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,536,000 after buying an additional 32,091 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the second quarter worth $2,370,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the first quarter worth $2,305,000. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.