Quest Partners LLC Decreases Position in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 70.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,542 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,980,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,541,000 after purchasing an additional 57,894 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 1,946,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,123,000 after purchasing an additional 36,510 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,110,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,305,000 after purchasing an additional 130,670 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 435,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,463,000 after purchasing an additional 106,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Proto Labs by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 299,848 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,807,000 after purchasing an additional 55,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Shares of PRLB opened at $41.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.62 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.23. Proto Labs, Inc. has a one year low of $25.75 and a one year high of $42.66.

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

Insider Activity

In other Proto Labs news, CEO Robert Bodor purchased 3,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.68 per share, for a total transaction of $99,806.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,319,581.04. This trade represents a 4.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Proto Labs in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.33.

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.