Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) Shares Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 95.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,198 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $5,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 5.7% during the 3rd 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 965,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,355,000 after purchasing an additional 13,554 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 585,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,209,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 44,804.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 573,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,855,000 after purchasing an additional 572,596 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 387,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,388,000 after purchasing an additional 23,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PRLB shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Proto Labs in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Proto Labs from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Proto Labs from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.67.

Proto Labs Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PRLB opened at $36.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $885.28 million, a P/E ratio of 56.20 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.48. Proto Labs, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.76 and a twelve month high of $46.73.

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

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.