S Squared Technology LLC Makes New $23.48 Billion Investment in Proto Labs, Inc. $PRLB

Key Points

• S Squared Technology LLC acquired 288,120 Proto Labs shares, representing about 1.2% of the company and 7.3% of its portfolio. Other institutional investors also added positions, with hedge funds and institutions collectively owning 84.54% of PRLB.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Proto Labs has an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $89, despite mixed individual upgrades and downgrades.
• Proto Labs beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.60 versus a $0.53 estimate and revenue of $149.34 million, up 10.5% year over year. Shares opened at $76.55, down 3.8%, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.83 billion.

S Squared Technology LLC bought a new stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 288,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $23,484,661,000. Proto Labs comprises approximately 7.3% of S Squared Technology LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. S Squared Technology LLC owned about 1.20% of Proto Labs at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $22,302,000. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Proto Labs by 480.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 36,695 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 30,370 shares during the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,617,000. Barbara Oil Co. purchased a new position in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,361,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,820,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $87.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

Proto Labs Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $76.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.47. Proto Labs, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.10 and a twelve month high of $93.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.24 and a beta of 1.40.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. Proto Labs had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The company had revenue of $149.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Proto Labs

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc is a digital manufacturing company that offers on-demand production services for custom parts and prototypes. Utilizing technologies such as 3D printing (additive manufacturing), CNC machining and injection molding, the company transforms digital CAD designs into functional parts on accelerated timelines. Its platform-driven process combines automated quoting, rapid tool generation and manufacturing execution to serve product developers, engineers and small- to medium-sized production runs.

Founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, Proto Labs has championed the application of digital workflows to traditional manufacturing methods.

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