What analysts said: Proto Labs introduces new CFO to analysts

In February, Vicki Holt succeeded Brad Cleveland as CEO of Maple Plain-based Proto Labs and was charged with taking the company to the next level of corporate growth and development. Holt hired John Way, a veteran finance officer and CFO at a number of companies, to replace CFO Jack Judd, who retired on Dec. 1.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity got a first impression of Way on a conference call last week. Canaccord analyst Bobby Burleson expects investors to respond positively to Way. "We believe the new CFO is a good complement to CEO Vicki Holt and expect his extensive background in financial management of large organizations, operational business planning and M&A will help Proto Labs navigate through the next phase of growth," Burleson wrote.

Burleson is maintaining his "buy" recommendation on Proto Labs.

Wells Fargo Securities analyst Timothy Conder has initiated coverage on Plymouth-based Arctic Cat Inc. Conder started coverage on Tuesday with a hold rating of "market perform." Conder has covered Arctic Cat's local rival Polaris Industries Inc. for much longer, initiating coverage in 2007. Conder currently has Medina-based Polaris rated "outperform," and has had the buy rating on Polaris since 2012.

According to Bloomberg, with Conder's coverage, Arctic Cat now has 10 analysts, with three "buy" and seven "hold" ratings.

Polaris, with a market cap of nearly $10 billion compared to $425 million for Arctic Cat, is more widely covered, with 19 analysts maintaining coverage. Sixteen have "buys," two have "holds" and one analyst has a "sell" on Polaris.