Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 1.5 %

MLAB stock opened at $202.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Mesa Laboratories has a 1 year low of $178.32 and a 1 year high of $333.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.77.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.82). Mesa Laboratories had a negative net margin of 0.78% and a positive return on equity of 5.80%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mesa Laboratories will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 31st will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 30th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -213.33%.

Insider Activity at Mesa Laboratories

In related news, Director John James Sullivan sold 5,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $1,078,689.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,956,530.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mesa Laboratories news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.22, for a total transaction of $73,782.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,022.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John James Sullivan sold 5,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $1,078,689.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,956,530.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,062 shares of company stock valued at $1,618,881. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 924,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $235,751,000 after buying an additional 4,061 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 523,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,448,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 356,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $90,901,000 after purchasing an additional 13,885 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 341,492 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $87,040,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 277,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $70,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.90% of the company’s stock.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

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Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells life sciences tools and quality control products and services in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company's Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment manufactures and sells biological, cleaning, and chemical indicators that are used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization and disinfection processes in the hospital, dental, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries.