Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $73.60 and last traded at $73.11, with a volume of 22427 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on PRLB shares. Zacks Research upgraded Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Proto Labs from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.33.

Proto Labs Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.40 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.81.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 4.71%.The firm had revenue of $139.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Proto Labs has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.580 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In other Proto Labs news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total transaction of $1,113,924.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,281.67. This trade represents a 46.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 23,663 shares of company stock worth $1,650,167 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 1.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,722,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,989,000 after acquiring an additional 51,293 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 8.6% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,123,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,201,000 after acquiring an additional 89,167 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 126.0% during the fourth quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 631,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,938,000 after acquiring an additional 352,015 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 5.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 520,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,665,000 after acquiring an additional 26,700 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 0.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 463,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,162 shares during the period. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.