Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.3333.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRLB. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Proto Labs Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of PRLB opened at $78.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.04 and a beta of 1.39. Proto Labs has a 12-month low of $37.91 and a 12-month high of $81.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.67.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $139.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.31 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.580 EPS. Analysts predict that Proto Labs will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total value of $1,113,924.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,298,281.67. The trade was a 46.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value 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. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 8,736 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Proto Labs in the third quarter worth about $6,425,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 10.4% in the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 169,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,484,000 after purchasing an additional 15,960 shares in the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs in the third quarter worth about $5,683,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 301.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 65,583 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.