Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Shares Sold by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500,704 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 22,950 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 2.04% of Proto Labs worth $19,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRLB. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 66.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,633 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,252,000 after buying an additional 17,017 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 93.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 544.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,728,000 after acquiring an additional 80,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 78,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,080,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRLB. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE PRLB traded up $0.45 on Friday, reaching $41.10. 171,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,328. The business's fifty day moving average price is $36.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $977.04 million, a P/E ratio of 63.23 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.76 and a fifty-two week high of $46.73.

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

Proto Labs declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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.