Short Interest in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Drops By 23.6%

Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) saw a significant drop in short interest in 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. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 272,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of Proto Labs stock traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $38.14. The company’s stock 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 P/E ratio of 40.57 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.63. Proto Labs has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $45.15.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRLB. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 69.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Proto Labs in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its position in Proto Labs by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Proto Labs by 72.3% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. 84.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.