Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Earns "Hold" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Proto Labs Trading Up 2.1 %

PRLB stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.05. 212,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,074. The company has a market capitalization of $957.02 million, a PE ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.70. Proto Labs has a twelve month low of $25.75 and a twelve month high of $45.15.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.38 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 4.76%. Proto Labs's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Proto Labs will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,056,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,402,000 after acquiring an additional 110,244 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 13.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,305,000 after buying an additional 130,670 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 965,426 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,355,000 after buying an additional 13,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Proto Labs by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 585,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,209,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Proto Labs by 44,804.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 573,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $16,855,000 after acquiring an additional 572,596 shares during the period. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.