Bayesian Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 8,031 Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 8,031 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Proto Labs by 764.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Proto Labs by 175.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter worth about $192,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

PRLB stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.50. The company had a trading volume of 127,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,234. Proto Labs, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.76 and a twelve month high of $46.73. The company has a market cap of $962.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.31 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.26.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 3.31%. The firm had revenue of $126.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Proto Labs declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Proto Labs Profile

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets.