5,233 Shares in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Bought by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new stake in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 965,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,355,000 after acquiring an additional 13,554 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 3rd quarter valued at $753,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Proto Labs by 107.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 97,623 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 50,556 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Proto Labs by 544.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 95,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,728,000 after purchasing an additional 80,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Proto Labs by 93.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 139,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,109,000 after buying an additional 67,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PRLB opened at $37.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $899.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.13 and a beta of 1.45. Proto Labs, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.76 and a 12 month high of $46.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.83.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs 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.