ARK Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB)

ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PRLB) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 128,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,750 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Proto Labs were worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRLB. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Proto Labs by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Proto Labs in the fourth quarter worth $87,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Proto Labs by 72.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors own 84.54% of the company’s stock.

Proto Labs Stock Performance

Proto Labs stock opened at $39.62 on Wednesday. Proto Labs, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.75 and a fifty-two week high of $46.73. The stock has a market cap of $971.09 million, a P/E ratio of 60.95 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.74.

Proto Labs announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Proto Labs from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock 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, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Proto Labs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.