PRLB stock rose more than 6% in after-hours trading on December 10, 2021, after the company announced a $50 million share buyback.
Protolabs Announces $50 Million Increase to Stock Repurchase Authorization
MAPLE PLAIN, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Protolabs (NYSE: PRLB) announced today that on December 8, 2021 its Board of Directors approved a $50 million increase in its authorized stock repurchase program currently in effect, with an expiration date of December 31, 2023. This authorization increases the stock repurchase program to $150 million. As of December 7, 2021, Protolabs had repurchased an aggregate dollar value of $87 million, resulting in $63 million remaining available to purchase common stock under the expanded stock repurchase program.
Under this authorization, Protolabs is not required to purchase shares, but may choose to do so in the open market or through private transactions at times and amounts determined by the company based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors.
Protolabs’ capital allocation strategy remains unchanged. Protolabs prioritizes organic investment to enhance its platform and capacity with a focus on serving customers with world-class lead times. The company also invests in research and development to expand and enhance its envelope of service offerings to meet additional customer needs. Next, Protolabs looks for potential strategic acquisition opportunities that further the company’s growth strategy. Finally, the company provides the return realized by these investments to its shareholders through opportunistic stock repurchases.
Protolabs is the world’s leading provider of digital manufacturing services. The e-commerce-based company offers injection molding, CNC machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal fabrication to product developers, engineers, and supply chain teams across the globe. Protolabs serves customers using in-house production capabilities that bring unprecedented speed in tandem with Hubs, a Protolabs Company, which serves customers through its network of premium manufacturing partners.
PRLB Stock Technical Analysis
Both the long and short term trends are negative. It is better to avoid buying stocks with negative trends. PRLB is part of the Machinery industry. There are 147 other stocks in this industry, of which 91% are performing better than PRLB. PRLB is currently trading near the lower end of its 52 week range, which is not a good sign. Certainly not because the S&P500 Index is trading near new 52 week highs at the moment. There is a resistance zone ranging from 52.53 to 52.93. This zone is formed by a combination of multiple trend lines and important moving averages in the daily time frame. PRLB has a poor technical rating and the quality of the setup is also only medium at the moment. We see reduced volatility while prices have been consolidating in the most recent period. Click here to sign up for email alerts on when PRLB stock is a good long entry.
