Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Shares Down 4.7% - Here's Why

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 4.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $36.21 and last traded at $36.21. 51,821 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 189,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PRLB. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Monday. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $851.51 million, a P/E ratio of 35.78 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $28.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.44.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.15. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 3.60%. The business had revenue of $125.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Proto Labs

In other news, CEO Robert Bodor bought 3,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.68 per share, with a total value of $99,806.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Proto Labs by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 299,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,807,000 after purchasing an additional 55,932 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in Proto Labs by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 1,946,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,123,000 after purchasing an additional 36,510 shares in the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP increased its stake in Proto Labs by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 139,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,319,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 75.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,489 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 15,230 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company's stock.

Proto Labs Company Profile

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.