Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

PRLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 3,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $152,918.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,449,812.66. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 791.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,034,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,408,000 after acquiring an additional 918,219 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 417.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,973,000 after purchasing an additional 225,269 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,425,000. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,683,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 952.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 90,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,532,000 after buying an additional 81,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Proto Labs stock opened at $66.44 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.91. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.50 and a beta of 1.24. Proto Labs has a 12-month low of $29.58 and a 12-month high of $68.00.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $136.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Proto Labs’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Proto Labs has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.360-0.440 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Proto Labs will post 0.81 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.