Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 research note issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MLAB. Evercore ISI boosted 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 started coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MLAB traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $120.81. The stock had a trading volume of 43,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,289. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.41. Mesa Laboratories has a 12-month low of $82.86 and a 12-month high of $141.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $653.46 million, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.55. Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 111.89% and a positive return on equity of 18.95%. The firm had revenue of $58.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.90 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.91 EPS 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total value of $286,095.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,213,794.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MLAB. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 6.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,873 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 35.2% during the first 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. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 90.60% of the stock is currently 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.