Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Proto Labs from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating positive analyst sentiment about the stock's potential.
• Proto Labs recently reported earnings of $0.41 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and saw a 7.6% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Institutional ownership of Proto Labs is strong, with 84.54% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, showing confidence in the company's prospects.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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 report on Friday, August 1st.

Proto Labs Price Performance

PRLB traded up $0.84 on Friday, hitting $45.04. The company had a trading volume of 89,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,846. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.04 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.66. Proto Labs has a 52-week low of $26.34 and a 52-week high of $46.73.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 764.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 175.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 50.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.