Short Interest in 3D Printing Sector Rises While Stock Prices Slide

Short interest in 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) rose 8.1% to 16.62 million shares. Some 17.1% of the company’s stock is short. In the two-week short interest period to January 31, shares fell nearly 15% and are down about 28% for the year to date as of Tuesday night. The stock’s 52-week range is $27.88 to $97.28, and shares closed at $66.66 Tuesday.

Short interest in Proto Labs Inc. (NYSE: PRLB) increased by 6.6% to 3.3 million shares, or 15.7% of the company’s float. Shares are up about 9% in the two-week period and closed Tuesday at $76.96, up about 8% year-to-date. The stock’s 52-week range is $43.11 to $89.97.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) saw short interest rise 23.1% in the final two weeks of January to 2.12 million shares, or about 5.5% of the company’s float. Shares gained about 1% in the two-week period and closed at $110.78 Tuesday, down nearly 18% for the year to date. The stock’s 52-week range is $60.20 to $138.10.

Short interest in The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) rose 19.3% to 2.77 million shares. About 27.1% of the company’s shares are now held short. Shares of ExOne are down about 24% in the two-week period and closed at $45.11, down about 25% year-to-date. The stock’s 52-week range is $24.13 to $78.80.

Voxeljet A.G. (NYSE: VJET) saw short interest rise by 5.4% to 2.52 million. Since coming public at $19 in mid-October. the share price is up nearly 27%. Year to date, however, shares are down 7.7% and are down nearly 16% in the past two weeks. The stock closed at $36.44 on Tuesday, in a post-IPO range of $19.30 to $70.00.

Of the 3D printing firms, 3D Systems has taken the most lumps in the past two weeks or so. A short-seller report trashing the company hit in the final week of January, and the stock price has continued to slide. ExOne and Voxeljet have seen share prices rise in the past week or so, and that probably accounts for the sharp rise in ExOne’s short interest.