Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $92.17 and last traded at $91.08, with a volume of 10843 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Proto Labs Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 72.58 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.44.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $149.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.53 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Proto Labs

In other news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRLB. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at $317,581,000. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Proto Labs by 791.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,034,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,408,000 after purchasing an additional 918,219 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 126.0% during the 4th quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 631,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,938,000 after purchasing an additional 352,015 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 4,959.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 227,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,517,000 after purchasing an additional 223,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the second quarter valued at about $11,720,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc is a digital manufacturing company that offers on-demand production services for custom parts and prototypes. Utilizing technologies such as 3D printing (additive manufacturing), CNC machining and injection molding, the company transforms digital CAD designs into functional parts on accelerated timelines. Its platform-driven process combines automated quoting, rapid tool generation and manufacturing execution to serve product developers, engineers and small- to medium-sized production runs.

Founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, Proto Labs has championed the application of digital workflows to traditional manufacturing methods.