Short Sellers Retreat From 3D Printing Sector

Short interest in 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) fell 2.3% to 16.17 million shares. Some 16.7% of the company’s stock is short. In the two-week short interest period to December 13, shares rose about 8.2% and are up about 148% for the year to date, as of Thursday night. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.88 to $92.68. The high was posted Thursday.

Short interest in Proto Labs Inc. (NYSE: PRLB) increased by 6.6% to 3.03 million shares, or 14.6% of the company’s float. Shares were down about 8.5% in the two-week period and closed Thursday at $71.93, up about 84% year to date. The stock’s 52-week range is $35.86 to $89.97.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) saw short interest drop 2.9% in the first two weeks of December to 1.9 million shares, or about 5.1% of the company’s float. Shares rose about 1.2% in the two-week period and closed at $130.33 Thursday, up about 60% for the year. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.20 to $134.00.

Short interest in The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) fell 9.5% to 3.33 million shares. About 32.7% of the company’s shares are now held short. Shares of ExOne were down about 1.6% in the two-week period and closed at $58.35 Thursday, up about 130% year to date. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.50 to $78.80.

Voxeljet A.G. (NYSE: VJET) saw short interest rise by 8.4% to 2.14 million. Since coming public at $19 in mid-October, the share price is up about 36%. The stock closed at $39.17 in a post-IPO range of $19.30 to $70.00.

Share prices in the 3D printer companies generally increased somewhat in the first two weeks of December. Voxeljet has seen the biggest rise in short interest, but the pace of that growth has slowed somewhat. These stocks remain volatile and tend to move as a group.