Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Down 7.4% – Should You Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares were down 7.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $124.10 and last traded at $124.10. Approximately 17,717 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 41,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLAB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $611.55 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $128.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.59.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 7.91 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Mesa Laboratories by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 2,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. 90.60% of the stock is currently 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.