Summit Global Investments Invests $318,000 in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,124 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 40.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in Proto Labs in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Proto Labs in the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on 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 restated 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 Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Proto Labs presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $36.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $896.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.91 and a beta of 1.45. 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 $40.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.76.

Proto Labs declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Proto Labs 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.