Mesa Laboratories (MLAB) Competitors

Daktronics (NASDAQ:DAKT) and Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Is DAKT or MLAB more profitable?

Daktronics has a net margin of 3.62% compared to Mesa Laboratories' net margin of -104.92%. Mesa Laboratories' return on equity of 30.23% beat Daktronics' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Daktronics	3.62%	19.61%	8.96%
Mesa Laboratories	-104.92%	30.23%	10.43%

Does the media prefer DAKT or MLAB?

In the previous week, Daktronics and Daktronics both had 3 articles in the media. Mesa Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.01 beat Daktronics' score of 0.38 indicating that Mesa Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Daktronics	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Mesa Laboratories	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation & earnings, DAKT or MLAB?

Daktronics has higher revenue and earnings than Mesa Laboratories. Mesa Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Daktronics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Daktronics	$818.08M	0.91	$34.62M	$0.25	62.92
Mesa Laboratories	$216.19M	3.56	-$254.25M	-$46.26	-3.06

Does the MarketBeat Community favor DAKT or MLAB?

Daktronics received 13 more outperform votes than Mesa Laboratories when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.13% of users gave Daktronics an outperform vote while only 63.90% of users gave Mesa Laboratories an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Daktronics	Outperform Votes 236 64.13%	Underperform Votes 132 35.87%
Mesa Laboratories	Outperform Votes 223 63.90%	Underperform Votes 126 36.10%

Do analysts rate DAKT or MLAB?

Daktronics presently has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 65.29%. Mesa Laboratories has a consensus target price of $140.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.20%. Given Daktronics' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Daktronics is more favorable than Mesa Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Daktronics	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Mesa Laboratories	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk & volatility, DAKT or MLAB?

Daktronics has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mesa Laboratories has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of DAKT or MLAB?

61.7% of Daktronics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.6% of Mesa Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Daktronics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Mesa Laboratories shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Daktronics beats Mesa Laboratories on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.