Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Stock Price Breaks Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $77.47 and traded as high as $88.23. Proto Labs shares last traded at $87.3440, with a volume of 281,150 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.00.

Proto Labs Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.51 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Insider Transactions at Proto Labs

In other Proto Labs news, CFO Daniel Schumacher sold 5,000 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.32, for a total value of $476,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,338,011.08. The trade was a 12.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $902,629. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,882,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at about $10,270,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 98.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 27,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 13,781 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the second quarter valued at about $317,581,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the second quarter worth about $1,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

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.