Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Mesa Laboratories stock traded down $3.42 on Friday, reaching $113.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,483. Mesa Laboratories has a 52 week low of $82.86 and a 52 week high of $141.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $127.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $611.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 0.85.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $58.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 year.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 66.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,719 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2.5% in 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. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 643.8% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 64,776 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 56,067 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.