Can Short Sellers Anticipate Another Payday from 3D Printing Sector?

Short interest in 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) fell 16.1% to 16.55 million shares. Some 17.1% of the company’s stock is short. In the two-week short interest period to October 31, shares slipped about 4.4% and were up more than 125% for the year to date as of Tuesday night. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.88 to $84.85.

Short interest in Proto Labs Inc. (NYSE: PRLB) decreased by 7.7% to 2.84 million shares, or 13.7% of the company’s float. Shares are down more than 13% in the two-week period and closed Tuesday at $70.64, up about 80% year to date. The stock’s 52-week range is $35.05 to $89.97.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) saw short interest drop 4.1% in the final two weeks of November to 1.96 million shares, or about 5.2% of the company’s float. Shares fell about 5% in the two-week period and closed at $121.26 Tuesday, up about 51% for the year. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.20 to $134.00.

Short interest in The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) fell 5.7% to 3.85 million shares. About 36.1% of the company’s shares are now held short. Shares of ExOne are down about 12% in the two-week period and closed at $54.69, up more than 100% year to date. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.50 to $78.80.

Voxeljet A.G. (NYSE: VJET) has now been in the 3D ring for about six weeks, long enough to see its short interest rise from an initial reading of 890,000 shares to 1.98 million. In the two-week period from November 15, that is a rise of 43.3%. Since coming public at $19 in mid-October, the share price is up nearly 36%.

The final two weeks of November have not been kind to 3D printer stocks. Voxeljet reached a peak of $70 a share on November 1, only to see $30 of that evaporate as of Tuesday night. Short interest has come down in all these stocks as share prices fell, exactly what the short sellers hoped for after short interest rose sharply in the first two weeks of November. Now that share prices are lower again, perhaps another round of shorting is setting up to begin.