Insider Buying: Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) CEO Acquires $52,140.00 in Stock

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) CEO Suresh Krishna bought 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.52 per share, with a total value of $52,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 30,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,147,959.44. The trade was a 2.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Proto Labs Trading Up 4.7%

PRLB opened at $65.97 on Friday. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.07 and a 12-month high of $99.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.13 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $85.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.39.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $154.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.31 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 5.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Proto Labs from $87.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $317,581,000. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,524,000. S Squared Technology LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth $23,484,661. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Proto Labs during the second quarter worth approximately $11,720,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Company Profile

Proto Labs, Inc (NYSE: PRLB), operating as Protolabs, is a digital manufacturing company that provides rapid prototyping and on-demand production services. The company uses automated quoting and manufacturing systems to help engineers and product developers produce custom parts without relying on traditional, lengthy tooling and procurement processes.

Protolabs offers computer numerical control (CNC) machining, injection molding, 3D printing and sheet-metal fabrication. Its services support the development and production of components in a range of materials and are used across industries including automotive, aerospace, medical, electronics and consumer products.

Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Larry Lukis, the company has expanded its reach beyond its original U.S.