Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Needham & Company LLC upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Needham & Company LLC now has a $87.00 price target on the stock. Proto Labs traded as high as $83.25 and last traded at $85.2220, with a volume of 8307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.25.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Proto Labs from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In other Proto Labs news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total transaction of $1,113,924.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,281.67. This trade represents a 46.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,663 shares of company stock worth $1,804,727. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRLB. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Proto Labs by 7,380.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Proto Labs during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Trading Up 7.4%

The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.97.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $149.34 million for 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 company’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.37 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.