Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $27.40, but opened at $33.75. Proto Labs shares last traded at $35.67, with a volume of 219,690 shares trading hands.

The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.15. Proto Labs had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Proto Labs’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Bodor bought 3,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.68 per share, for a total transaction of $99,806.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,319,581.04. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRLB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Proto Labs by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,980,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,541,000 after acquiring an additional 57,894 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 1.9% during the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 1,946,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,123,000 after purchasing an additional 36,510 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 13.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 130,670 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 32.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 435,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,463,000 after buying an additional 106,423 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Proto Labs by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 299,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,807,000 after buying an additional 55,932 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $897.10 million, a PE ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.43.

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.