Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $147.34 and last traded at $147.34, with a volume of 8178 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $138.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mesa Laboratories from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $783.10 million, a PE ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $122.17 and its 200-day moving average is $119.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 9.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 214,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,809,000 after buying an additional 18,128 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 191,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $24,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,732 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $19,722,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.60% of the company's stock.

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.