Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $92.17 and last traded at $91.08, with a volume of 10843 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRLB. Wall Street Zen cut Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

Proto Labs Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.91 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $149.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.53 million. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 5.44%.The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Proto Labs, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Proto Labs

In other news, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of Proto Labs stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total transaction of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,511,986.40. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 7,380.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Proto Labs in the first quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.