Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Proto Labs, buying 146,968 additional shares to reach a total of 148,595 shares, amounting to a stake valued at $5.21 million.
• The stock price of Proto Labs opened at $39.67, with a one-year low of $25.75 and a high of $46.73, amid a market capitalization of $942.96 million.
• Proto Labs recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.33 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.3% despite a total of $126.21 million in revenue for the quarter.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 9,033.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 146,968 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.63% of Proto Labs worth $5,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter worth $192,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,947,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 348.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 212,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,323,000 after acquiring an additional 165,396 shares during the period. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Craig Hallum raised shares of Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday.

Proto Labs Price Performance

PRLB stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.48. The stock had a trading volume of 154,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,117. Proto Labs, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.75 and a twelve month high of $46.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.46 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.54.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.08. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $135.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.