3D Printing Stocks Climbs Higher

3D printing stocks climbed higher on Monday, though no major news has arrived to fuel a rally. One possible catalyst is a 3D printing expo that began in China on Friday and continued through Monday. Over 20,000 people were reported to have registered for the event. It is uncertain if a development was announced at the conference, but it may have sparked international buying. 3D printing stocks are also heavily shorted, indicating that a couple point move upward could have strengthened positive momentum as shorts began covering their positions.

Voxeljet AG (ADR) (NYSE:VJET) jumped 10.48%, 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) soared 7.29%, Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) surged 6.40% and ExOne Co (NASDAQ:XONE) rose 1.15% during the last trading session.

LUO JUN, Chairman, Chinese 3D Industry Alliance, said “The biggest problem is the speed of 3D printing. It usually take a month to finish printing a relatively complex object. 3D printing is limited in its application market and materials. It still has a long way to go. 3D printing entered China more than 10 years ago, but it’s still not been used in people’s daily life. The technology still needs to be improved.”

Luo says, China is at an important period of upgrading traditional industries, which provides opportunities for 3D printing technology.

However, it has lagged behind other countries in the research and development of 3D printers for industrial or biological use.

What’s worth noting is China’s 3D printing industry is still at an early stage. Currently, 28 listed firms in China are involved in the 3D printing business. None of them have annual sales revenue of more than 20 million dollars. In contrast, the leading 3D printer makers in the United States each has annual sales revenue of 400 to 500 million dollars. Meanwhile, Chinese firms mainly rely on imports for the core raw materials of 3D printer production. The high costs of imported raw materials will be a major bottleneck in the development of China’s 3Dprinting industry.

A blueprint on the development of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has been drafted by the industry regulator and will be released this year, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The plan aims to establish a preliminary technical innovation system by 2017, and cultivate five to 10 additive manufacturers with annual production value of more than 500 million yuan ($81.3 million) each, the newspaper reported, citing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology(MIIT).

China will also strengthen financial support to 3D printing enterprises by encouraging them to get listed both at home and abroad and issue corporate bonds, the report said.

An investment fund and a national innovation center will also be set up for 3D printing industry, an MIIT official said, according to the report.

(Source: MARKETSEMERGING.COM)