We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best 3D Printing Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) stands against the other 3D printing stocks.
3D printing, sometimes known as additive manufacturing, is the process of layering materials to create three-dimensional objects and structures using computer-aided design (CAD) technology. Unlike traditional manufacturing procedures, additive manufacturing builds 3D objects layer by layer using a range of materials such as metal, plastic, concrete, and paper. Although the technology has been around for a few years, the industry has expanded massively in recent years due to its limitless applications in commercial manufacturing and large-scale projects.
According to Proto Labs’ 2024 3D Printing Trend Report, the 3D printing market was valued at $22.14 billion on average in 2023, an increase of 26.8% from $17.46 billion in 2022. This was 10% more than the company’s previous forecast, which predicted a $19.9 billion market size in 2023 with a 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The research also suggests a CAGR of 21%, with the market reaching $24.8 billion by the end of 2024 and $57.1 billion by 2028. This rapid market growth rate was also highlighted in replies to the 2024 edition of Proto Labs Network’s annual survey of over 700 members of its worldwide engineering community. Around 70% of the survey’s respondents reported printing more components in 2023 than in 2022.
Artificial intelligence is another potential boon for 3D printing. AI’s development has been so broad and disruptive in practically every area that it’s almost a guarantee it will have an influence on 3D printing as well. AI’s revolutionary prospects, such as spotting faults during construction, creating elaborate designs, and even optimizing material qualities, are unquestionably fascinating. However, Adam Hecht, co-founder and head of Additive Manufacturing at DIVE, feels that artificial intelligence will be most useful in hardware devices. He said the following:
“Right now, we have a lot of smart printers that are very dumb. They will say something is wrong without specifying what it is. That’s very frustrating for a lot of consumers and companies. But as the systems get smarter, they can actually help users to self-diagnose, or dial in new materials, for example—I think that’s where we’re going to see a lot more adoption.”
3D Printing in Healthcare
As an additive technology, 3D printing has made its way into most, if not all, industries, but it has proven to be most effective in the healthcare industry, due to its applications in the manufacture of precise prosthetics for amputees, fitted perfectly to the individual’s requirements. Another key advantage of 3D printing, especially with regard to medical device development, is its capacity to facilitate rapid prototyping and iterative design. Historically, bringing novel medical equipment to market has required long design versions, tooling techniques, and testing stages. However, 3D printing accelerates the process by allowing designers to quickly construct prototypes and revise concepts in response to feedback and testing results. Given this, it’s no wonder that the usage of 3D printing in healthcare is gradually increasing. According to Grand View Research, the healthcare 3D printing market was valued at $8.52 billion in 2023 and is expected to increase at a CAGR of 18.5% between 2024 and 2030.
Our Methodology
For our list of the 10 best 3D printing stocks to buy, we used financial media reports and ETFs to narrow down on companies involved in 3D printing, additive manufacturing, or technologies related to 3D printing operations. The names on this list are ranked in ascending order according to the hedge fund sentiments surrounding them, using data from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A computer programmer typing code in front of a 3D printed object, emphasizing new ways of product development.
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) offers 3D printing and digital manufacturing services, such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal printing, and multi-jet printing. The company has made a number of advancements in its divisions, such as printing high-purity copper and introducing the PSLA 270, a faster photopolymer 3D printing platform.
On February 11, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Troy Jensen reaffirmed his Overweight rating on 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) shares, with a price target of $5.75. According to Jensen, the company’s revenue should be in line with FactSet consensus projections, indicating a combination of low system demand and strong consumable sales. The analyst’s estimates also included the different businesses inside 3D Systems, where system sales were hampered by external economic worries but consumable demand remained strong.
Furthermore, 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) and Daimler recently formed a partnership to decentralize spare part manufacture utilizing 3D printing technology. This partnership is intended to cut time to components in hand by up to 75% while minimizing vehicle downtime due to maintenance.
Overall DDD ranks 8th on our list of the best 3D printing stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of DDD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DDD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.