Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Short Interest Update

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 682,100 shares, a decrease of 23.6% from the December 15th total of 892,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 272,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its position 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 valued at $60,402,000 after purchasing an additional 110,244 shares in the last quarter. 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 boosted its position in Proto Labs by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 965,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,355,000 after acquiring an additional 13,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $17,209,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 44,804.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Proto Labs Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of PRLB traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.14. The company had a trading volume of 214,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,346. The stock has a market cap of $934.81 million, a PE ratio of 40.57 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.63. Proto Labs has a 1-year low of $25.75 and a 1-year high of $45.15.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.15. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 4.76%. The business had revenue of $125.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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.