SSYS vs. DDD: Is it Too Late to Invest in 3D Printing?

InvestmentU compares 3D Systems Corp and Stratasys as investment options and looks into the market potential of 3D printing as a whole.

3D printing may be the next game changer in technology. The industry has been around for a while and the stocks had a great run in 2012.

But we’ve seen a pullback since CES in January, which coincided with the peak. I’m excited about the industry for three reasons:

-- The possible emergence of the dental market.

-- Falling prices for “prosumer” printers.

-- Recent acquisitions offering padding to the upcoming quarter. Additionally, now that we’ve had a pullback, forward valuations for the two premier companies are reasonable.

It’s simply much cheaper, faster and more accurate to print your own part than it is to build a sand-cast model and have it sent out for fabrication.Any design, production, or engineering company would be a potential customer today.

... There’s still plenty of room to grow. Today, there are 40 million active licenses of Computer Aided Design software, but only 50,000 3D printers in production. There will never be a 1:1 comparison. However, if it could be 50:1, the opportunity is 16 times larger than the current market size.

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3 Exciting 3D-Printing Related Stocks

With all the exciting new developments in 3D printing technology, it's no wonder that this industry is capturing attention. According to Google Trends graph above, searches for "3D printing" have increased over 5 times since the beginning of 2011. Seeking Alpha reports.

The article is a simple rundown of some interesting 3D printing related stocks that offer various different products, which the author believes are worth investigating for anyone interested in this industry. He looks into Stratasys, Organovo and Cimatron Group.

3D Printing Companies to watch

According to Kapital, consumer interest in 3D printing is picking up steam.

On the financial markets, 3D Systems is trading at above $50 at the time of writing, close to a 52-week high. Stratasys Inc. is also trading at close to all-time highs. Autodesk, Inc. shares, which were range-bound between $30 and $35, is trading close to the upper-end of that range.

Investors are enthusiastic for the prospects of Stratasys and 3D Systems: the price of profit is 52 and 37, respectively.

Analysts are noticing 3D printer companies: JPMorgan upgraded the company to newutral, from underweight in mid-December. BB&T initiated a “buy” rating for 3D Systems in early-December 2012.

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3D Printing News Investors Need to Know

3D Systems will be acquiring Geomagic, a company that provides 3D imaging software to scan physical objects into 3D CAD models. In this video, Motley Fool industrial analysts Blake Bos and Isaac Pino discuss why they like this merger.

Geomagic press release.

3D printing, China’s new growth point

China plans to invest in locally-invented 3D printing technologies to boost its manufacturing power, according to a senior industrial official, reports NZWeek.

Su Bo, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said the country should establish plans and use tax incentives to speed up research and development (R&D) and application of 3D printing technologies.

“It is a revolutionary manufacturing technique. Once put to large-scale production, it will ease China’s pressure on energy and resources,” said Su at an international forum on additional manufacturing technology, which closed in Wuhan on Sunday.

David Bourell, a professor of the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States, sees great potential in the application of additional manufacturing in China."Even if the smallest portion of consumer goods are produced through 3D printing, the market volume will be tremendous", he said.

China is the world’s biggest manufacturer. If the technology can be put to broader use, the country’s productivity and energy- and resource-use efficiency will improve greatly, said Su Bo.

Read more. 3D printed dragon by Objet.

3D printer stocks soar on Wall Street

Mark Fleming, founder of 3D Printer, reports on how 3D printer stocks are faring on the market and how investing in them is within the reach of any size investor.

The two publicly traded companies, 3D Systems (DDD) and Stratasys (SSYS), today saw some of the biggest gains on Wall Street, on an otherwise mixed day that had the S&P down 0.20%. The 3D printer stocks made an incredible showing, with Stratasys rising 7.33% and DDD rising even further, 11.52%.

These are highly volatile stocks, as they are still rather small, so news, analyst opinions, earnings and other events can move them significantly from day to day. Hell, I’ve been around long enough to know that the gains we’ve seen today could be wiped out tomorrow. But these are companies you should be in for the long term (other than any trading shares you want to play with)–with all the patents they own and the growth and momentum they have, they are going to be the leaders for some time.

Actually, I believe we’ll see them being bought out. No inside information, just my own non-professional opinion.