Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New $337,000 Investment in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Proto Labs by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,647,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Proto Labs by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 78,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,080,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Proto Labs by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Proto Labs by 764.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Proto Labs by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 115,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,524,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRLB traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.89. 246,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,468. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.76 and a 52-week high of $46.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.28 and a 200-day moving average of $38.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $876.82 million, a P/E ratio of 56.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $123.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.67.

Proto Labs Company 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.