Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PRLB. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark raised their price target on Proto Labs from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of PRLB opened at $66.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.60 and a beta of 1.24. Proto Labs has a 1 year low of $29.58 and a 1 year high of $68.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.13.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $136.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.07 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.360-0.440 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Proto Labs will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Proto Labs news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 3,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $152,918.16. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,449,812.66. The trade was a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Haven Private LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at $421,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at $405,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 41,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,100,000 after acquiring an additional 15,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

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.