ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,590 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $297,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Proto Labs by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,871,000 after purchasing an additional 308,970 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Proto Labs by 348.1% during 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. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth about $5,972,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Proto Labs by 544.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,728,000 after buying an additional 80,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Proto Labs by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,851,000 after buying an additional 68,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently commented on PRLB. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.
Read Our Latest Report on PRLB
Proto Labs Trading Up 3.0%
Shares of Proto Labs stock traded up $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $37.62. 247,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 237,443. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.82. The company has a market cap of $894.15 million, a P/E ratio of 57.87 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.76 and a 12-month high of $46.73.
Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.31% and a return on equity of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $126.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.
Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Proto Labs Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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