Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 16,598 Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. $PRLB

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Proto Labs, Inc. by 27.2%, acquiring an additional 16,598 shares to own a total of 77,679 shares valued at approximately $2,722,000.
• Several hedge funds have recently shown increased interest in Proto Labs, with First Trust Advisors LP raising its position by 71.9% and Pacer Advisors Inc. increasing its stake by an astonishing 9,033.1%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Proto Labs, with Wall Street Zen upgrading their rating from "buy" to "strong-buy" and a consensus price target of $52.50 reflecting positive growth expectations.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,679 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,598 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.33% of Proto Labs worth $2,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 764.1% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 249.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 926 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 175.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 50.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 14.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Proto Labs currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In other news, CEO Suresh Krishna acquired 1,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.51 per share, for a total transaction of $75,054.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $784,093.71. This trade represents a 10.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Proto Labs Stock Down 0.3%

PRLB traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 214,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,900. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 84.23 and a beta of 1.33. Proto Labs, Inc. has a one year low of $26.34 and a one year high of $51.09. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.28.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $135.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.05 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 2.22%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.350-0.430 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Proto Labs

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.