SG Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 49,875 Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,000. SG Capital Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Proto Labs as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,851,000 after purchasing an additional 68,006 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 738,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,871,000 after buying an additional 308,970 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 571,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,354,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. S Squared Technology LLC lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. S Squared Technology LLC now owns 307,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,001,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 281,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,009,000 after acquiring an additional 9,314 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PRLB. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE:PRLB opened at $40.60 on Friday. Proto Labs, Inc. has a one year low of $25.76 and a one year high of $46.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $965.10 million, a P/E ratio of 62.46 and a beta of 1.37.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $126.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.71 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 3.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Proto Labs declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Proto Labs Company Profile

Proto Labs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets.