American Capital Management Inc. Invests $50.52 Million in Proto Labs, Inc. $PRLB

Key Points

• American Capital Management purchased 619,845 Proto Labs shares worth approximately $50.52 million, giving it a 2.59% stake and making PRLB 2.3% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 84.54% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Proto Labs has a consensus “Buy” rating and an $89 target price, with Benchmark raising its target to $91 and Needham upgrading the stock to “Buy.”
• Proto Labs exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 earnings per share versus a $0.53 estimate and $149.34 million in revenue, up 10.5% year over year. Shares recently opened at $78.63, versus a 12-month range of $45.10 to $93.00.

American Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 619,845 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $50,524,000. Proto Labs makes up 2.3% of American Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. American Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.59% of Proto Labs at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Proto Labs by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,871 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,886 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,883 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Proto Labs from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $87.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Proto Labs currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $78.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.90 and a beta of 1.40. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.10 and a 12 month high of $93.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.82.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. Proto Labs had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The company had revenue of $149.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc is a digital manufacturing company that offers on-demand production services for custom parts and prototypes. Utilizing technologies such as 3D printing (additive manufacturing), CNC machining and injection molding, the company transforms digital CAD designs into functional parts on accelerated timelines. Its platform-driven process combines automated quoting, rapid tool generation and manufacturing execution to serve product developers, engineers and small- to medium-sized production runs.

Founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, Proto Labs has championed the application of digital workflows to traditional manufacturing methods.

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