Micro-Cap to Market Giant: The Best Type of 3D Printing Company to Invest In

The 3D printing market has gone through a tumultuous several of years, leaving many investors wary of the market. It’s not the technology that’s in doubt, so much as the companies behind these innovations.
With this in mind, the Investing News Network broke down the 3D printing market to discover the most successful type of 3D printing company to invest in. From micro- to mid-cap and market leaders, we sifted through the 3D printing scene to discover your safest bet when it comes to additive manufacturing investing.

Micro-cap uncertainty

Micro-cap companies are typically the most vulnerable when it comes to market fluctuations, business challenges and other obstacles to success. This rule holds true in the 3D printing market. The sector’s smallest companies that have seen the largest shifts in share prices so far in 2016. Take Tinkerine Studios (TSXV:TTD), for instance. The company is engaged in designing and distributing 3D printers, software and related online content. Year-to-date, the company – which has a market cap of $2.46 million – has seen a 50-percent fall in share price.
For investors looking to avoid the riskiness of the 3D printing market, micro-cap companies are not the place to look right now. These ventures see greater increases in share price when the market as a whole can support their riskiness. Right now, with the tech market in a slightly conservative period, safer 3D printing investments lie within the larger companies.

Small- to mid-cap options

The small- to mid-cap options in the 3D printing scene have fared slightly better in 2016. However, it’s certainly not a cakewalk for these companies. ExOne (NASDAQ:XONE), a provider of 3D printing machines and products, materials and services to industrial customers managed to remain relatively stable through the first half of 2016. With a market cap of $148.17 million, the company only saw a one-percent year-to-date loss in share price.
Meanwhile, Voxeljet (NYSE:VJET), a provider of 3D printing machines, products, materials and services with a market cap of $76.74 million has managed to see a 1.78-percent increase so far this year. Materialise (NASDAQ:MTLS), a Belgium-based company in the same area with a market cap of $327.95 million saw a similar jump of 1.27-percent, year-to-date.

Major market players

While the small- to mid-cap range of 3D printing companies managed to remain fairly stable in the first half of 2016, the major market players saw a lot more movement. For instance, 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD), a holding company that provides 3D products and services saw a whopping 41.89-percent growth in share price over the past six months. The company’s market cap, as of time of publication, is $1.24-billion. Alas, not ever major 3D printing company faired so well. Stratasys (NASDAQ:SSYS), the 3D printing giant with a market cap of $1.04-billion, saw a drop of 10.95-percent since January.

Investor takeaway

All told, the 3D printing is in an interesting state right now. Both the micro-cap companies and market giants have seen some huge shifts in share price, while the smaller players have seen more stable returns. Obviously, investors need to determine their own comfort level, and no one category of 3D printing stocks guarantees success. But all told, there is great potential in the 3D printing market, as 3D Systems’ enormous success in the first half of 2016 has confirmed.