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

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

Proto Labs Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRLB traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.47. The stock had a trading volume of 651,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,691. Proto Labs has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $45.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $942.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.76.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 5.7% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,056,593 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,402,000 after purchasing an additional 110,244 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 130,670 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Proto Labs by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 965,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,355,000 after acquiring an additional 13,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Proto Labs by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 585,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,209,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Proto Labs by 44,804.1% during 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Proto Labs presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.33.

Proto Labs Company Profile

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.