Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $76.89 and traded as high as $96.14. Mesa Laboratories shares last traded at $95.56, with a volume of 94,570 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLAB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Mesa Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mesa Laboratories from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Mesa Laboratories from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Stock Up 0.5%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $527.97 million, a PE ratio of 149.31 and a beta of 0.89.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $65.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.23 million. Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 1.51% and a return on equity of 22.02%. As a group, analysts predict that Mesa Laboratories, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simcoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,794,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 2,009.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,357 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after purchasing an additional 108,936 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Mesa Laboratories by 218.0% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,268,000 after purchasing an additional 84,582 shares during the period. Roubaix Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter worth about $5,137,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 131.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,817 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after purchasing an additional 76,107 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mesa Laboratories

Mesa Laboratories, Inc (NASDAQ: MLAB) is a global provider of instrumentation products designed for critical process monitoring, testing and calibration. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company serves a diverse set of end markets including healthcare, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy and industrial sectors. With a focus on precision measurement and validation, Mesa Laboratories helps customers ensure regulatory compliance, product safety and operational efficiency across complex manufacturing and sterilization processes.

The company’s product portfolio encompasses biological and chemical indicators for sterilization process validation, digital data loggers and sensors for environmental monitoring, and optical gas analyzers with sample-conditioning solutions for oil, gas and petrochemical applications.