Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Free Report) by 99.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 572,247 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $64,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,236 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 244,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,711,000 after purchasing an additional 105,813 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth $87,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 93.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,109,000 after purchasing an additional 67,449 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Proto Labs Stock Down 6.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PRLB traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 711,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,183. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.11 and a beta of 1.45. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.75 and a 1 year high of $46.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.77.

Proto Labs announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Monday, November 4th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.33.

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.