Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Craig Hallum raised Proto Labs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on Proto Labs from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.33.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE PRLB opened at $35.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $904.46 million, a PE ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 1.13. Proto Labs has a one year low of $22.09 and a one year high of $39.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.30.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. Proto Labs had a negative return on equity of 15.26% and a negative net margin of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of $130.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $123.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Proto Labs will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Proto Labs by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Proto Labs by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,957 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs during the 1st quarter worth about $499,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Proto Labs by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 535,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,727,000 after purchasing an additional 91,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Proto Labs by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 13,589 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.97% of the company’s stock.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an e-commerce digital manufacturer of custom prototypes and on-demand production parts in the worldwide. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional (3D) printing, which include stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal laser sintering, multi jet fusion, polyjet, and carbon DLS processes; and sheet metal fabrication products, including quick-turn and e-commerce-enabled custom sheet metal parts.