Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB – Get Free Report) and Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Proto Labs and Stratasys, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Proto Labs | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.25 |
| Stratasys | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
Proto Labs presently has a consensus price target of $89.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.00%. Stratasys has a consensus price target of $12.33, suggesting a potential upside of 62.92%. Given Stratasys’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Stratasys is more favorable than Proto Labs.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Proto Labs | $533.13 million | 3.53 | $21.24 million | $1.25 | 63.01 |
| Stratasys | $551.10 million | 1.18 | -$104.29 million | ($1.34) | -5.65 |
Proto Labs has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Stratasys. Stratasys is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Proto Labs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Proto Labs has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stratasys has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its share price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Proto Labs and Stratasys’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Proto Labs | 5.44% | 4.80% | 4.22% |
| Stratasys | -21.05% | -1.77% | -1.38% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
84.5% of Proto Labs shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.8% of Stratasys shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Proto Labs shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Stratasys shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Proto Labs beats Stratasys on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.
About Stratasys
Stratasys Ltd. provides connected polymer-based 3D printing solutions. It offers range of 3D printing systems, which includes polyjet printer, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers, stereolithography printing systems, origin P3 printers, and selective absorption fusion printer for additive manufacturing, and tooling and rapid prototyping for various vertical markets, such as automotive, aerospace, consumer products and healthcare. The company provides consumable materials, including 3D printing materials comprising FDM, polyjet, and stereolithography materials for manufacturing applications, such as jigs and fixtures, investment casting, and injection mold or composite tooling applications; and other material. In addition, it offers software and services, which includes cloud, desktop and mobile technologies comprising GrabCAD, an additive manufacturing platform to manage production-scale operations; and GrabCAD Print, job programming software enables the unique features of 3D printing technologies, such as creating lightweight, structurally sound infills for FDM, and multi-material and color and material management for polyjet. The company also provides GrabCAD Shop including scheduling, remote monitoring, and analytics; GrabCAD Connect provides two-way SDK integration for third-party software applications; and GrabCAD Community, an online community of professional engineers, designers, manufacturers and students who share their practices through tutorials, discussion forums, design/print challenges, and 3D content. Further, it offers GrabCAD Shop, which simplifies 3D printing shop workflow; GrabCAD Streamline Software Development Kit (SDK) to support enterprise goals such as system connectivity, compliance, and workflow automation; and Grab CAD Software Partner program for independent software vendors. The company sells its products through a network of resellers and independent sales agents worldwide. Stratasys Ltd. is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
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