Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $115.52 and last traded at $114.1010, with a volume of 49600 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Mesa Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $630.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.89 and a beta of 0.92.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.87% and a net margin of 1.92%.The company had revenue of $60.14 million for the quarter.

Mesa Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, CAO Lyndsey Elizabeth Crennen sold 442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total value of $39,559.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,020 shares in the company, valued at $180,790. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO John Sakys sold 2,827 shares of the company’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 $253,016.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,770,757.50. This represents a 12.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,277 shares of company stock worth $770,122. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLAB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 786 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 432.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

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.