Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Trims Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 71.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,452 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Proto Labs were worth $161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,633 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,252,000 after buying an additional 17,017 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Proto Labs by 1.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Proto Labs by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 244,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,711,000 after acquiring an additional 105,813 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,236 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRLB. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Proto Labs presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRLB traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.50. 127,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,638. The company has a market cap of $962.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.31 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.26. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.76 and a 52 week high of $46.73.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $126.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $123.71 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 3.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.