BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,190 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,718 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Proto Labs were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRLB. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 175.7% in the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at $192,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of PRLB stock traded up $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $37.62. The stock had a trading volume of 247,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,443. The firm has a market capitalization of $894.15 million, a P/E ratio of 57.87 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.76 and a 1 year high of $46.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $36.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.82.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 3.31%. The company had revenue of $126.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Proto Labs's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRLB shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

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.