Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.45 and traded as high as $138.08. Mesa Laboratories shares last traded at $136.91, with a volume of 234,179 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLAB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Mesa Laboratories from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mesa Laboratories from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mesa Laboratories from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mesa Laboratories currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $128.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.96. The company has a market capitalization of $759.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mesa Laboratories

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 110.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 523 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter worth $49,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 17.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Mesa Laboratories during the third quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mesa Laboratories

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.