Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

PRLB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.33.

Proto Labs Trading Down 0.3%

Proto Labs stock opened at $77.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.01 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.28. Proto Labs has a 12 month low of $38.48 and a 12 month high of $83.15.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $139.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.31 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 4.71%.The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.580 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Proto Labs will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total value of $1,113,924.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,683 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,511,986.40. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,663 shares of company stock worth $1,804,727. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 7,380.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Proto Labs during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by 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.