Zacks Research Upgrades Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) to “Strong-Buy”

Posted by Brian Himes on Aug 8th, 2026

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB – Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Proto Labs from $70.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Proto Labs from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Proto Labs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Proto Labs from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Proto Labs

Proto Labs Price Performance

Shares of PRLB stock opened at $88.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.85. Proto Labs has a 1-year low of $45.10 and a 1-year high of $91.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 71.14 and a beta of 1.40.

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. Proto Labs had a return on equity of 4.80% and a net margin of 5.44%.The firm had revenue of $149.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. Proto Labs’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Proto Labs has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.560-0.640 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Proto Labs will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Proto Labs news, insider Michael R. Kenison sold 16,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.49, for a total value of $1,113,924.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,281.67. This represents a 46.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sven Wehrwein sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.28, for a total value of $154,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,511,986.40. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,463 shares of company stock worth $1,790,727. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Proto Labs

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRLB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Proto Labs during the second quarter worth about $317,581,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,047,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Proto Labs in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,882,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,720,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Proto Labs during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,334,000. 84.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Proto Labs

(Get Free Report)

Proto Labs, Inc is a digital manufacturing company that offers on-demand production services for custom parts and prototypes. Utilizing technologies such as 3D printing (additive manufacturing), CNC machining and injection molding, the company transforms digital CAD designs into functional parts on accelerated timelines. Its platform-driven process combines automated quoting, rapid tool generation and manufacturing execution to serve product developers, engineers and small- to medium-sized production runs.

Founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, Proto Labs has championed the application of digital workflows to traditional manufacturing methods.