Should You Buy Stratasys As 3D Printing Stocks Tumble?

This article was originally published by GuruFocus on April 21, 2014

By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research assistant: Gohar Yousuf

The Israel based Stratasys (SSYS) has performed poorly at the stock markets, but it could be the best 3-D printing stock available right now.

Shares of Stratasys have struggled this year, dropping by more than 23% so far. The company has, however, outperformed its peers 3D Systems (DDD), ExOne (XONE) and Voxeljet AG (VJET) which are down 47.6%, 51.3% and 58.9% on a year-to-date basis.

Which 3-D Printing Company Should You Choose?

From The Motley Fool
By Sarfaraz A. Khan
Research Assistant G. Yousuf

The online retail behemoth Amazon has given a mainstream boost to the latest manufacturing revolution, 3-D printers, by launching a dedicated section for 3-D printers under its industrial and scientific department. In this section customers can shop for printers, printer filament, software, accessories, and books related to 3-D printing.

The office-supply store Staples is already selling 3D Systems’ (NYSE: DDD) consumer printer called Cube. Amazon, on other hand, is the official reseller of MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3-D printer. Amazon, like others, believes that although the 3-D technology is exciting and looks promising, it still has a long way to go and requires the support of larger corporations.

The 3-D printing market is getting consolidated to two main firms: 3D Systems and Stratasys(NASDAQ: SSYS). Both of these were the top-performing stocks in 2012 with 3D Systems increasing by 270%, while Stratasys rose by 158% in the 12 months ending December 2012. This year, the growth of the two traditional 3-D stocks has been relatively modest, but a new entrant, ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE) is feeding the market’s appetite and its stock has risen by 93% this year.

Earnings Review: The Rise And Rise Of 3D Printing Industry

From Seeking Alpha

The 3D printing industry is expected to become a $6.5 billion industry by 2019, rising from just a $1.7 billion market in 2011. Research firm Gartner believes that enterprise-class printers priced below $2,000 will be available in the market from as early as 2016. The firms operating in the industry today, particularly market leaders 3D Systems Corp (DDD) and Stratasys (SSYS), will have the first mover's advantage and will reap maximum returns in the long run as the niche starts becoming more mainstream. Although there are going to be some short-term hiccups, which has now become apparent, the long-term prospects ..... read more

.