Technology

Short Interest in 3D Printing Stocks Rises as HP Enters the Market

Paul Ausick

Published: June 10, 2016 7:55 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 6:58 am

Short interest during the two-week period ending May 31 rose on three of four 3D printing stocks we follow. Share prices for all four stocks increased during the two-week period, ranging from a gain of around 5% to as much as 14%.

The big news during the recent short interest period was HP Inc.’s (NYSE: HPQ) announcement that it would enter the 3D printer market with a device it calls the Jet Fusion 3D. HP has positioned the printer as more than a prototyping device, saying that it can compete with traditional manufacturing methods at a fairly high scale. BMW, Nike and others have signed up as partners with HP. It’s worth noting that as many as half the new printer’s parts can be printed by the device.

Short interest in 3D Systems Corp. (NYSE: DDD) rose by 7.3% to 26.95 million shares. Some 25.4% of the company’s float was short. Days to cover rose from five to eight. In the two-week short interest period to May 31, the share price rose 9.9%. The stock’s 52-week range is $6.00 to $22.05, and shares closed at $13.08 on Thursday, down about 4.3% on the day. Earlier this week, two of the company’s top executives resigned.

Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) saw short interest rise by 4.3% in the last two weeks of May to about 9.08 million shares, or 18.7% of the company’s float. Days to cover rose from five to nine. The share price rose by 14% in the two-week period and the stock closed at $21.90 on Thursday, down about 4.6% on the day, in a 52-week range of $14.48 to $39.45.

Short interest in The ExOne Co. (NASDAQ: XONE) dropped 4.9% to 1.8 million shares. About 19.7% of the company’s shares were short. ExOne’s share price rose by more than 11% in the two-week period. The stock’s 52-week range is $5.81 to $14.75 and shares closed at $10.73 on Thursday, down about 2.2% for the day. Days to cover rose from six to 10.

Short interest in Voxeljet A.G. (NYSE: VJET) increased by 6.6% to 645,407 American depositary shares (ADSs), with days to cover rising from eight to 13. The share price rose about 4.5% in the two-week period to May 31. The ADSs closed most recently at $5.14, down about 2.5% for the day, in a 52-week range of $3.50 to $8.21.