Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Mesa Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLAB) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 123,000 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the October 31st total of 150,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Brian David Archbold sold 1,499 shares of Mesa Laboratories stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $187,375.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary M. Owens sold 2,518 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.62, for a total transaction of $286,095.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,794.56. This trade represents a 5.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mesa Laboratories

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLAB. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mesa Laboratories by 27.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,444 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Mesa Laboratories by 357.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,837 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 6,905 shares during the period. Meros Investment Management LP grew its position in Mesa Laboratories by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 33,240 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,317,000 after acquiring an additional 4,941 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mesa Laboratories by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 124,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,205,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Mesa Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $388,000. 90.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mesa Laboratories from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Mesa Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mesa Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Mesa Laboratories Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MLAB opened at $117.14 on Friday. Mesa Laboratories has a 1 year low of $83.68 and a 1 year high of $141.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.53.

Mesa Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Mesa Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.40%.

Mesa Laboratories Company Profile

Mesa Laboratories, Inc develops, designs, manufactures, sells, and services life sciences tools and quality control products and services in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The Sterilization and Disinfection Control segment offers biological, chemical, and cleaning indicators, used to assess the effectiveness of sterilization decontamination, disinfection, and cleaning processes in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare industries.