Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Proto Labs reached a new 52-week high after Needham upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy and set an $87 price target. Shares traded as high as $83.25, while the broader analyst consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an $89 target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, exceeding the $0.53 estimate, while revenue rose 10.5% year over year to $149.34 million. Proto Labs issued third-quarter EPS guidance of $0.56 to $0.64.
• Institutional investors own 84.54% of the stock, but insiders sold 25,663 shares worth approximately $1.8 million over the past 90 days, reducing insider ownership to 1.30%.

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Needham & Company LLC upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Needham & Company LLC now has a $87.00 price target on the stock. Proto Labs traded as high as $83.25 and last traded at $85.2220, with a volume of 8307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.25.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PRLB. Benchmark upped their target price on Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Proto Labs from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 32,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total transaction of $1,113,924.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,298,281.67. This trade represents a 46.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,663 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,727 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRLB. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in Proto Labs during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Proto Labs by 7,380.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.96 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.97.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $149.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.53 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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