Craig Hallum Issues Positive Forecast for Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Stock Price

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Craig Hallum from $30.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Craig Hallum's price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.32% from the company's current price.

PRLB has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Proto Labs has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Proto Labs Price Performance

NYSE PRLB traded down $4.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 782,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,234. Proto Labs has a 12 month low of $25.75 and a 12 month high of $41.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $28.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.44. The company has a market cap of $851.51 million, a P/E ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 1.32.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.38 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 3.60% and a net margin of 4.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Proto Labs will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Proto Labs news, CEO Robert Bodor purchased 3,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.68 per share, with a total value of $99,806.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 80,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRLB. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $469,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 170,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 22,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,950 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.