Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Cuts Stock Position in Proto Labs, Inc. $PRLB

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,419 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.48% of Proto Labs worth $5,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRLB. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 11,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 175,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,883,000 after buying an additional 7,190 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter worth approximately $229,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 38,149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 3,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Proto Labs by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 105,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,359,000 after acquiring an additional 22,213 shares in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PRLB shares. Wall Street Zen cut Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Proto Labs from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In related news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $154,560.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total value of $1,113,924.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 18,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,298,281.67. The trade was a 46.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,663 shares of company stock worth $1,804,727 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Proto Labs Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:PRLB opened at $78.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.81 and a 200 day moving average of $60.67. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 74.04 and a beta of 1.39. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.91 and a 12-month high of $81.29.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $139.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.31 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.580 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.