Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $48.00 and last traded at $46.69, with a volume of 33493 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PRLB shares. Craig Hallum raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st.

Proto Labs Trading Up 0.7%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.79. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.68 and a beta of 1.33.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.08. Proto Labs had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 2.22%. The business had revenue of $135.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Suresh Krishna purchased 1,725 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.51 per share, for a total transaction of $75,054.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,093.71. This represents a 10.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth approximately $210,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,947,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 17,003 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 15,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 2,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Proto Labs by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 27,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.