BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Proto Labs, Inc. $PRLB

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3.9 million Proto Labs shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $317.6 million, giving it a 16.29% stake. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 84.54% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Proto Labs carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $89.00. Recent changes included upgrades from Zacks Research and Needham, while Benchmark raised its target to $91.
• Proto Labs exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.60 in earnings per share versus a $0.53 estimate and $149.34 million in revenue, up 10.5% year over year. Shares opened at $78.63, with a 52-week range of $45.10 to $93.00.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,896,222 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $317,581,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 16.29% of Proto Labs as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 791.9% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,034,171 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,408,000 after acquiring an additional 918,219 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 126.0% in the 4th quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 631,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 352,015 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Proto Labs by 4,959.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 227,655 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,517,000 after purchasing an additional 223,155 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,720,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,425,000. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark increased their target price on Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $87.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Proto Labs from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

PRLB stock opened at $78.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.82. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.10 and a 52-week high of $93.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.90 and a beta of 1.40.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 5.44%.The firm had revenue of $149.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The business'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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Proto Labs

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 32,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Proto Labs Profile

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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