Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) CEO Suresh Krishna Acquires 1,725 Shares

Key Points

• Suresh Krishna, CEO of Proto Labs, acquired 1,725 shares of the company at an average price of $43.51, increasing his ownership by 10.59%.
• Proto Labs reported $0.41 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $135.06 million, reflecting a 7.6% year-over-year increase.
• Several firms, including Craig Hallum and Cantor Fitzgerald, upgraded their ratings and set new price targets, with Craig Hallum raising it to $54.00 and Cantor Fitzgerald to $51.00.

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) CEO Suresh Krishna purchased 1,725 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.51 per share, with a total value of $75,054.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 18,021 shares in the company, valued at $784,093.71. This trade represents a 10.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE:PRLB traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 207,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,164. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.88 and a beta of 1.33. Proto Labs, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.34 and a twelve month high of $46.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $39.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.70.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $135.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.05 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 2.22%. Proto Labs's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PRLB. Craig Hallum raised Proto Labs from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 97.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 711,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $24,939,000 after buying an additional 351,097 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Proto Labs by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,871,000 after acquiring an additional 308,970 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 9,033.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 148,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,207,000 after acquiring an additional 146,968 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Proto Labs in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,458,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Proto Labs by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,851,000 after purchasing an additional 68,006 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

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.

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