Proto Labs, Inc. (PRLB) reached a significant support level, and could be a good pick for investors from a technical perspective. Recently, PRLB's 50-day simple moving average broke out above its 200-day moving average; this is known as a "golden cross."

Considered an important signifier for a bullish breakout, a golden cross is a technical chart pattern that's formed when a stock's short-term moving average breaks above a longer-term moving average; the most common crossover involves the 50-day and the 200-day, since bigger time periods tend to form stronger breakouts.

A successful golden cross event has three stages. It first begins when a stock's price on the decline bottoms out. Then, its shorter moving average crosses above its longer moving average, triggering a positive trend reversal. The third and final phase occurs when the stock maintains its upward momentum.

A golden cross contrasts with a death cross, another widely-followed chart pattern that suggests bearish momentum could be on the horizon.

Shares of PRLB have been moving higher over the past four weeks, up 49.5%. Plus, the company is currently a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, suggesting that PRLB could be poised for a breakout.

The bullish case solidifies once investors consider PRLB's positive earnings outlook. For the current quarter, no earnings estimate has been cut compared to 2 revisions higher in the past 60 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased too.

With a winning combination of earnings estimate revisions and hitting a key technical level, investors should keep their eye on PRLB for more gains in the near future.

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