Protolabs (PRLB)
NYSEIndustrialsManufacturing - MiscellaneousSnapshot 2026-09-04
$81.44+2.40%
Close 2026-09-04 · 1-day change
NYSEIndustrialsManufacturing - MiscellaneousSnapshot 2026-09-04
QuarterlyIQ Insights · PRLB
Price, fair value, and the multiples that frame it on the same time axis. Scroll over the price chart to zoom.
Daily closes. Earnings/event dots inline.
A consensus fair price across 10 valuation methods, at three horizons. As of 2026-09-04. Estimates are diagnostics, not price targets. Short-horizon estimates are close to coin-flips, so confidence is a method-agreement read, not a prediction.
Today's peer multiple on trailing earnings, with no growth credited. This is the headline read.
Adds projected growth, so it leans optimistic by design. Read it as upside context, not a base case.
We take the 12-month fair value above and grade our own number — how the market prices this name versus what we'd justify, and where the two diverge.
At $81 PRLB trades at 45× p/e — 1.7× the 26× p/e peer median. The market is re-rating it beyond its own range; our $52 fair value is medium-confidence here. The flat-multiple read looks rich, but earnings are inflecting up — trailing growth is accelerating and forward estimates confirm — so we've softened our read rather than brand an accelerating name expensive. Even valued only for durable growth at sustainable margins, it's worth about $88 — above today's price, so the premium reflects that growth case, not pure multiple expansion. Not investment advice.
One valuation read at a 12-month horizon, plus how price compares to peers and the company's own history.
Score 100 = cheapest in the cohort, 0 = richest. Bars are filled left-to-right based on the peer-relative score (or PEG/self-history where shown).
Each method's implied share price per horizon. Provisional rows use a projected (historical-CAGR) growth input rather than analyst or management guidance.
| Method | Horizon | Est. price | Multiple | Per-share input | EPS source | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dcf fcfe | 12M | $49.06 | — | — | Hist. CAGR | high |
| dcf fcff | 12M | $54.30 | — | — | Hist. CAGR | high |
| graham number | 12M | $34.06 | — | — | TTM | high |
| Peer EV/EBITDA | 12M | $52.49 | 16.9 | 2.79 | TTM | high |
| Peer P/FCF | 12M |
A “consensus-then vs. actual-now” overlay is on the way — what our valuation estimate said on a past date versus where the price actually landed.
Not investment advice. Scores describe historical and current data; they are not forecasts of future returns. Consult a licensed advisor before making investment decisions.
A long-thesis check that carries the widest uncertainty of the three horizons.
Above average on quality vs scored peers
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
Only expensive valuation — not the full expensive x weak x turbulent stack. Regime (Mania) does not concentrate fragility.
For similar setups historically (n=20,154): about 33% saw a 20%+ drawdown, and roughly 76% of those did not recover within the year. These are historical base rates for the cohort, not a forecast of this stock.
At today's price you pay about 273% over what the business is worth with no growth; closing that gap needs roughly 78.0 years of the forecast growth to come through. These describe the expectations embedded in the price, not a forecast of the move. Reverse-DCF base: $1.71/sh owner earnings.
Looks more expensive than peers.
Self-history needs ~20 months of data.
Trailing four: 2025-Q2, 2025-Q3, 2026-Q1, 2026-Q2
Direction of the business behind the multiple. Bands are backend reads; trailing-12-month basis.
| $59.77 |
| 24.5 |
| 2.44 |
| TTM |
| high |
| Peer P/E | 12M | $48.00 | 20.4 | 2.35 | ntm analyst | high |
| Peer P/S | 12M | $65.63 | 2.9 | 22.96 | TTM | high |
| PEG | 12M | $92.38 | 46.0 | 2.01 | TTM | high |
| residual income | 12M | $24.09 | — | — | TTM | high |
| triangulated | 12M | $50.33 | 25.6 | 1.97 | Triangulated | high |
| Peer P/FCF | 3Y | $87.93 | 24.5 | 3.58 | Hist. CAGR(prov.) | medium |
| Peer P/E | 3Y | $54.89 | 20.4 | 2.69 | Analyst | medium |
| Peer P/S | 3Y | $82.57 | 2.9 | 28.89 | guidance | medium |
| PEG | 3Y | $123.58 | 46.0 | 2.69 | Analyst | medium |
| Peer P/FCF | 5Y | $113.74 | 24.5 | 4.63 | Hist. CAGR(prov.) | medium |
| Peer P/E | 5Y | $62.85 | 20.4 | 3.08 | Analyst | medium |
| Peer P/S | 5Y | $94.54 | 2.9 | 33.07 | guidance | medium |
| PEG | 5Y | $141.49 | 46.0 | 3.08 | Analyst | medium |