Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Upgraded to “Buy” at Needham & Company LLC

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) was upgraded by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $87.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PRLB. Wall Street Zen downgraded Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

NYSE PRLB opened at $74.51 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.00 and its 200 day moving average is $66.78. Proto Labs has a fifty-two week low of $40.84 and a fifty-two week high of $83.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 59.61 and a beta of 1.40.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $149.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.53 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 5.44% and a return on equity of 4.80%. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total value of $1,113,924.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,298,281.67. This trade represents a 46.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,663 shares of company stock valued at $1,804,727 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Proto Labs

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRLB. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Proto Labs by 2.4% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in Proto Labs by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Company Profile

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.