StockNews.com Upgrades Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) to “Buy”

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MLAB. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of 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 Trading Down 2.9 %

MLAB stock opened at $113.04 on Friday. Mesa Laboratories has a 1-year low of $82.86 and a 1-year high of $141.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.73 and its 200-day moving average is $113.75. The firm has a market cap of $611.55 million, a P/E ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.90 million. Mesa Laboratories had a positive return on equity of 18.95% and a negative net margin of 111.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,973,000 after buying an additional 3,119 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 194,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,324,000 after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 131,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,444,000 after purchasing an additional 8,722 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 8.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 80,739 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,006,000 after purchasing an additional 6,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,108,000 after buying an additional 56,067 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.