Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 711,000 shares, a decline of 29.6% from the October 31st total of 1,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 278,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRLB traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.19. The company had a trading volume of 135,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,713. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 43.40 and a beta of 1.32. Proto Labs has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $42.66.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.15. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The business had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Proto Labs's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Proto Labs will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Proto Labs

In other Proto Labs news, CEO Robert Bodor purchased 3,480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.68 per share, for a total transaction of $99,806.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 80,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. The trade was a 4.50 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 81.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 42,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 19,232 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,980,157 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,541,000 after buying an additional 57,894 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 146.5% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,403 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 18,068 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter worth approximately $629,000. Finally, Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 1.9% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 1,946,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,123,000 after purchasing an additional 36,510 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Proto Labs from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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