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

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $98.51 and last traded at $97.5930, with a volume of 21124 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $94.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PRLB shares. Zacks Research upgraded Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Proto Labs from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark lifted their target price on Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.36 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.92.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $149.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.53 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 5.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. Analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Daniel Schumacher sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.32, for a total transaction of $476,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,338,011.08. The trade was a 12.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $902,629. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the second quarter valued at about $317,581,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,524,000. S Squared Technology LLC bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,484,661. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 4,959.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 227,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,517,000 after acquiring an additional 223,155 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,720,000. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc, doing business as Protolabs, is a digital manufacturing company that provides rapid prototyping and on-demand production services. Its platform allows product designers and engineers to upload three-dimensional CAD models, receive automated design analysis and pricing, and order custom parts for product development and manufacturing.

The company offers computer numerical control (CNC) machining, injection molding, 3D printing and sheet metal fabrication. These services support a range of applications, including prototype development, functional testing, bridge production and low-volume manufacturing.