Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Proto Labs reached a new 52-week high of $52.05, with last trading at $51.85, reflecting positive investor sentiment and increased trading volume.
• Recent analyst upgrades include a shift from "buy" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, while the consensus rating for the stock is "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $52.50.
• CEO Suresh Krishna increased his ownership in the company by buying 1,725 shares at an average price of $43.51, indicating insider confidence in the company's performance.

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $52.05 and last traded at $51.85, with a volume of 94325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PRLB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Proto Labs has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Proto Labs Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $49.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.89.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.08. The company 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.350-0.430 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Proto Labs news, CEO Suresh Krishna bought 1,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.51 per share, with a total value of $75,054.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,021 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRLB. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 7,380.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position 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 valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Proto Labs by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the 1st quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Company 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.

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