Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Climb 6.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares shot up 6.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $150.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Mesa Laboratories traded as high as $137.76 and last traded at $136.2590. 52,669 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 140,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.82.

MLAB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,001,000. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,137,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,934,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $782.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.08.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $60.14 million during the quarter. Mesa Laboratories had a return on equity of 22.77% and a net margin of 2.65%.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Mesa Laboratories’s payout ratio is 56.14%.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. develops and manufactures instruments and consumable products used to monitor and control quality in life sciences and other regulated industries. Its offerings support activities such as sterilization and disinfection monitoring, laboratory testing, biopharmaceutical development, and equipment calibration. The company’s products include biological and chemical indicators, data loggers, calibration instruments, and tools used in clinical genomics and bioprocessing. Customers use these products to help verify processes, measure conditions, and meet quality requirements.