Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) Trading Down 4.7% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) were down 4.7% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $95.49 and last traded at $95.0110. Approximately 151,325 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 136,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.68.

Specifically, CFO John Sakys sold 1,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.27, for a total value of $123,853.21. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,674,803.26. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,151 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.27, for a total transaction of $116,561.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,710 shares in the company, valued at $375,711.70. This trade represents a 23.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Mesa Laboratories Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $522.69 million, a P/E ratio of 78.84 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.54.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.78 by ($0.25). Mesa Laboratories had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 20.96%. The business had revenue of $63.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.21 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.31) EPS.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 5,366.7% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 328 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. 90.60% of the stock is 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.