Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Stock: Insider Rainer Gawlick Buys 720 Shares

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Director Rainer Gawlick acquired 720 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.18 per share, for a total transaction of $49,089.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 46,813 shares in the company, valued at $3,191,710.34. The trade was a 1.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $62.74 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87 and a beta of 1.52. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.07 and a 1-year high of $99.96.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $154.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.31 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 6.04% and a return on equity of 5.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 240.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Proto Labs during the first quarter valued at about $52,000. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PRLB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Proto Labs from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Proto Labs has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.50.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc (NYSE: PRLB), operating as Protolabs, is a digital manufacturing company that provides rapid prototyping and on-demand production services. The company uses automated quoting and manufacturing systems to help engineers and product developers produce custom parts without relying on traditional, lengthy tooling and procurement processes.

Protolabs offers computer numerical control (CNC) machining, injection molding, 3D printing and sheet-metal fabrication. Its services support the development and production of components in a range of materials and are used across industries including automotive, aerospace, medical, electronics and consumer products.

Founded in 1999 by entrepreneur Larry Lukis, the company has expanded its reach beyond its original U.S.