Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $68.45 and last traded at $66.99, with a volume of 248797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRLB. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.33.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 76.13 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.02.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $136.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.07 million. Proto Labs had a net margin of 3.98% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Proto Labs has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.360-0.440 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In related news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,526 shares in the company, valued at $2,071,560. This represents a 6.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRLB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 2,207 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 3.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 63,871 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Proto Labs by 7,380.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at $472,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 0.6% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 249,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.