Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PRLB. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 544.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,728,000 after buying an additional 80,558 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 93.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,109,000 after acquiring an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth $5,972,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Proto Labs by 348.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 212,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,323,000 after purchasing an additional 165,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $41.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.02 and a 200-day moving average of $38.74. The stock has a market cap of $977.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.23 and a beta of 1.37. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.76 and a 52-week high of $46.73.

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

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Proto Labs

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.