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

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.3333.

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRLB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 3rd. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of Proto Labs stock traded down $1.12 on Friday, hitting $74.06. The company had a trading volume of 164,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,891. Proto Labs has a 1 year low of $38.48 and a 1 year high of $83.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.97 and a 200-day moving average of $64.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.87 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,298,281.67. The trade was a 46.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,663 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,727 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 2.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. grew its position in Proto Labs by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 10,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

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.