Reversal of Fortune, and Outlook, for 3D Systems via Short Seller

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By Jon C. Ogg Published
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3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) has seen close to a four dollar swing so far on Tuesday. The stock received a very positive research report calling for upside of up to $85 earlier and that had shares up, but now some outside commentary is hitting the stock and long-term investors looking for a profit on the 3D printing craze may want to pay attention to it.

Word is out that Whitney Tilson, a value investor and short seller, of T2 Partners has called 3D Systems one of the great shorting opportunities in a market of massive stupidity. His view is the multiple of sales and another person’s one-one-one with the CEO of 3D Systems act as red flags.

Readers should be aware that this is far from the first attempt to pound down 3D Systems by a short seller. We were given a detailed plan on why the company’s financial score merited a short sale by a short-selling ETF run like a hedge fund previously. That call was back on September 11 and the stock price on that day closed at $52.10 on that day, and now shares are trading up closer to $80.

Short sellers have been active in 3D Systems and others in the massive growth sector for some time. The short interest recently was shown to have dropped off a cliff at the NASDAQ short interest site. The November 15 settlement date’s short interest was 19.73 million shares, down from 26.28 million shares just two weeks earlier. That mid-November reading was the first time the short interest dipped under 20 million shares all the way back to February.

Shares of 3D Systems were up as high as $79.93 in early trading on Tuesday morning but are at $76.50 shortly before 1:00 PM. We would caution that the consensus analyst price target is now around $69.50, implying that the stock’s one-year price target leaves 10% if the average of all analysts turns out to be correct.

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About the Author Jon C. Ogg →

Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. a673b.bigscoots-temp.com.

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