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Total 3D-Printing Index - ETF Tracker

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ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF List

ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index are presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Returns

The following table presents historical return data for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Fund Flow

The table below includes fund flow data for all U.S. listed Highland Capital Management ETFs. Total fund flow is the capital inflow into an ETF minus the capital outflow from the ETF for a particular time period.

Fund Flows in millions of U.S. Dollars.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Expenses

The following table presents expense information for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Dividends

The following table presents dividend information for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index, including yield and dividend date.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Holdings

The following table presents holdings data for all ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index. For more detailed holdings data for an ETF click the ‘View’ link in the right column.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Tax Rates

The following table presents sortable tax data for ETFs currently tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Technicals

The following table presents certain technical indicators for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index. To see complete technical metrics click the ‘View’ link in the right column.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Analysis

The following table presents links to in-depth analysis for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index.

ETFs Tracking The Total 3D-Printing Index – ETF Realtime Ratings

The following table presents a proprietary ETF Database rating for ETFs tracking the Total 3D-Printing Index.

Total 3D-Printing Index - ETF Tracker

Symbol ETF Name Asset Class Total Assets* YTD Avg Volume Previous Closing Price 1-Day Change Overall Rating 1 Week 1 Month 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year YTD FF 1 Week FF 4 Week FF 1 Year FF 3 Year FF 5 Year FF ETF Database Inception ER Commission Free Annual Dividend Rate Dividend Date Dividend Annual Dividend Yield % P/E Ratio Beta # of Holdings % In Top 10 Complete ST Cap Gain Rate LT Cap Gain Rate Tax Form Lower Bollinger Upper Bollinger Support 1 Resistance 1 RSI Advanced Fact Sheet ETF Holdings Chart ETF Home Page Head-To-Head Liquidity Rating Expenses Rating Returns Rating Volatility Rating Dividend Rating Concentration Rating
PRNT 3D Printing ETF Equity $175,364 -41. 1% 23,942.0 $20.21 -1.99% -4.3% -4.9% -41.0% -9.5% -17.6% Technology Equities 2016-07-19 0.66% N/A $0.00 2019-12-27 $0.02 0.00% 39.1 1.30 57 43.9% View 40% 20% 1099 $19. 96 $22.42 $19.98 $20.38 42.94 View View View View View View B+ B-

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ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

ETF Database staff has allocated each ETF in the ETF database, as well as each index, to a single ‘best-fit’ ETF Database Category. Other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category are presented in the following table.

* Assets in thousands of U.S. Dollars. Assets and Average Volume as of 2022-12-22 15:18:01 -0500

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Historical return data for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Fund flow information for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Expense information for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Dividend information for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Holdings data for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Tax Rate data for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Technical information for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Links to analysis of other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

ETFs Tracking Other Technology Equities

Links to a proprietary ETF Database rating for other ETFs in the Technology Equities ETF Database Category is presented in the following table.

Symbol ETF Name Asset Class Total Assets* YTD Avg Volume Previous Closing Price 1-Day Change Overall Rating 1 Week 1 Month 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year YTD FF 1 Week FF 4 Week FF 1 Year FF 3 Year FF 5 Year FF ETF Database Inception ER Commission Free Annual Dividend Rate Dividend Date Dividend Annual Dividend Yield % P/E Ratio Beta # of Holdings % In Top 10 Complete ST Cap Gain Rate LT Cap Gain Rate Tax Form Lower Bollinger Upper Bollinger Support 1 Resistance 1 RSI Advanced Fact Sheet ETF Holdings Chart ETF Home Page Head-To-Head Liquidity Rating Expenses Rating Returns Rating Volatility Rating Dividend Rating Concentration Rating
VGT Vanguard Information Technology ETF Equity $40,507,100 -29. 8% 869,557.0 $319.07 -2.48% -3.4% -4.4% -29.1% 34.8% 101.5% Technology Equities 2004-01-26 0.10% Vanguard $2.79 2021-09-29 $0.89 0.63% 32.8 1.08 374 58.8% View 40% 20% 1099 $318. 04 $351.95 $314.11 $323.67 43.89 View View View View View View A A
XLK Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund Equity $39,123,400 -27.7% 7,594,071.0 $124.47 -2.52% -3.4% -4. 5% -26.9% 41.0% 104.1% Technology Equities 1998-12-16 0.10% N/A $1.10 2021-09-20 $0.27 0.67% 27.5 1.04 78 67.3% View 40% 20% 1099 $124.12 $137.28 $122.48 $126. 35 44.01 View View View View View View A+ A
IYW iShares U.S. Technology ETF Equity $8,039,290 -34.9% 953,068.0 $74.37 -2.76% -3.5% -4.4% -34.5% 30.6% 86.2% Technology Equities 2000-05-15 0. 39% N/A $0.32 2021-09-24 $0.07 0.29% 39.3 1.06 142 61.9% View 40% 20% 1099 $74.16 $82.23 $73.19 $75.46 43.67 View View View View View View A A-
SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF Equity $6,840,980 -33. 4% 4,594,562.0 $203.50 -4.15% -4.4% -4.6% -32.7% 47.4% 117.4% Technology Equities 2000-05-05 0.35% N/A $1.50 2020-12-21 $1.50 0.50% 28.2 1.17 26 58.5% View 40% 20% 1099 $204. 84 $227.46 $199.30 $207.84 45.72 View View View View View View A A
SOXX iShares Semiconductor ETF Equity $6,126,650 -35.0% 1,148,011.0 $348.58 -4.04% -4.4% -4.6% -34. 1% 43.0% 114.1% Technology Equities 2001-07-10 0.35% N/A $3.17 2021-09-24 $1.16 0.61% 32.7 1.17 32 57.2% View 40% 20% 1099 $350.61 $390.72 $340.96 $356.49 45. 41 View View View View View View A A-
FTEC Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF Equity $5,059,110 -29.6% 182,897.0 $94.43 -2.47% -3.4% -4.4% -29.0% 34.9% 96.4% Technology Equities 2013-10-21 0. 08% Fidelity $0.79 2021-09-17 $0.20 0.60% 31.7 1.08 366 59.3% View 40% 20% 1099 $94.08 $104.13 $92.96 $95.76 43.95 View View View View View View A- A+
CIBR First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF Equity $4,606,190 -27. 1% 643,575.0 $38.46 -1.51% -2.7% -4.3% -26.2% 31.2% 70.9% Technology Equities 2015-07-07 0.60% N/A $0.06 2021-06-24 $0.03 0.11% 28.0 1.02 39 46.2% View 40% 20% 1099 $38. 24 $41.89 $38.03 $38.77 43.43 View View View View View View A B-
IGV iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF Equity $4,559,800 -36.3% 1,446,682.0 $253.45 -1.92% -2.5% -2. 0% -36.2% 9.0% 64.1% Technology Equities 2001-07-10 0.40% N/A $0.00 2020-06-15 $0.07 0.00% 50.1 0.99 121 56.6% View 40% 20% 1099 $250.37 $274.22 $250.18 $255. 93 45.13 View View View View View View A A-
IXN iShares Global Tech ETF Equity $2,804,600 -29.7% 325,000.0 $44.92 -2.39% -3.2% -4.6% -29.0% 31.3% 81.2% Technology Equities 2001-11-12 0. 40% N/A $1.13 2021-06-10 $0.20 1.82% 38.5 1.03 132 57.4% View 40% 20% 1099 $44.82 $49.57 $44.27 $45.54 44.18 View View View View View View A A-
SKYY First Trust Cloud Computing ETF Equity $2,635,560 -45. 1% 443,378.0 $57.19 -2.32% -4.6% -4.6% -45.5% -4.4% 27.6% Technology Equities 2011-07-05 0.60% N/A $0.18 2021-09-23 $0.04 0.15% N/A 0.97 68 36.7% View 40% 20% 1099 $56. 87 $64.01 $56.29 $57.85 41.92 View View View View View View A B
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A Look at ARK’s 3D Printing Fund, “PRNT” - 3DPrint.com

ARK Investment Management LLC is the only investment management firm that offers an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) dedicated to 3D printing, making it a unique player in the world of additive manufacturing (AM) finance. Established in 2016, the Total 3D-Printing Index (PRNT) is one of the few ways that individuals can invest in the AM market as a whole without purchasing shares in separate 3D printing stocks.

An ETF is a collection of stocks tied to a specific sector or commodity but that can be bought or sold on the market in the same way a traditional stock can. When ETFs are actively managed, a team or expert is making decisions about the stocks within the fund’s portfolio based on the performance of companies behind them or the economic markets as a whole.

ARK was founded in 2014 by Cathie Wood, a well-known investor who suggested the idea of actively managed ETFs based on disruptive technologies while working as chief investment officer for asset management firm AllianceBernstein. When the company deemed the concept too risky, she created ARK, now a roughly $23 billion-fund tracking such tech firms as Tesla and Square.

Since the beginning, ARK looked at 3D printing, establishing the Total 3D-Printing Index (PRNT) just two years after the company’s founding. ARK’s fund uses a replication strategy, investing in the securities of an index kept by a German company called Solactive, the world’s 13th largest provider of stock indices (The oldest index is the famous S&P 500, tracking 500 companies with market caps of over $4.6 billion and totaling nearly $400 billion in assets). By replicating the Solactive 3D-Printing Index, PRNT is passively managed, with changes made to the index and, therefore to PRNT, semi-annually.

As for PRNT, the universe is made up of about 50 percent 3D printer manufacturers, followed by 30 percent CAD and simulation software businesses, 13 percent service bureaus, five percent scanning and measurement, and two percent materials. Whereas a mutual fund might require something like a $10,000 minimum to invest, the PRNT index is an opportunity for more ordinary consumers to put funds toward a technological segment for which they anticipate growth.

Other benefits include the fact that ETFs are somewhat more transparent than other funds, in that the holdings can be viewed publicly online daily, in contrast to another private fund that might send a semi-annual statement to investors. ETFs also generally have lower fees. For PRNT, ARK takes a 0.6 percent cut, compared to a mutual fund’s fees of closer to two percent.

Every quarter, the ETF is rebalanced and every six months, ARK will suggest changes to the stocks in the fund, based on its research. Solactive, however, has the final say. With a minimum market cap threshold of $80 million and a liquidity threshold, Solactive examines the average daily volume of how a stock has traded over the course of three months, with a minimum volume exceeding $200,000. If the stock is large and liquid enough, it may be considered for the index. The PRNT fund is then rebalanced based on the index.

The companies in the fund are also scored based on such characteristics as management team, product portfolio, and execution. ARK hopes that the stocks within their funds will double over a five-year period. Ideally, these should make for a relatively balanced collection of firms involved in AM with the potential for double growth over the next five years.

Looking through the most recent list of holdings under the PRNT index, as of December 1, 2021, you’ll see nearly 60 firms comprised of everyone from Stratasys and 3D Systems to Hexagon and Oerlikon with their respective weight percentages. Desktop Metal has the highest weight in the list at a whopping 7.60 percent, with the next in line, HP, weighted at 5.17 percent.

This compares to a company like Align, known for the use of 3D printing in its manufacturing of invisible braces, which is weighted at 1.35 percent. In total, the fund manages $472.9 million in assets, with a weighted average market cap of $120 billion and median market cap of $5 billion. Since its inception in July of 2016, it has seen a positive market price change of 83.99%.

The consumer hype bubble turned many off of the technology, but that that was not the case for ARK. As evidenced by this chart from an ARK slide deck, 3D printing has barely begun to penetrate the market for end-use parts. The investment firm estimates the total addressable opportunity for this market to be worth nearly $500 billion, of which the current penetration by AM has only been about one percent.

 

Image courtesy of ARK.

However, since that hype bubble, the 3D printing industry has evolved significantly, with AM investment shifting from a consumer- to industry-focused technology, lending credence to ARK’s estimates.

For instance, 3D Systems dissolved its consumer line, while Stratasys began outsourcing the production of its MakerBot 3D printers. Now, not only have these stalwarts redirected their investments toward industrial 3D printing—3D Systems focusing heavily on its Figure 4 ecosystem for production and Stratasys developing a mass sintering platform—but numerous giants from outside of AM have entered into the space, making significant waves.

At first, this was signified by GE Additive, which acquired two important metal 3D printer manufacturers and is developing a metal binder jetting system, and HP, which has released a polymer sintering and metal binder jetting machine. However, numerous chemical companies have been shaping the industry a great deal. Specifically, BASF has made some important acquisitions, such as that of Sculpteo, and opened up a spare parts printing business.

Now, there is clearly a lot of attention being paid to the industry. The participation by major corporations in the space was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the role that AM played in managing the supply chain disruptions that resulted. We reported numerous cases in which 3D printing was able to help produce replacement parts, molding, and medical components, showcasing its potential for manufacturing as a whole.

This reintroduced the technology to a number of firms that were left in the lurch. The technology proved valuable as a stopgap measure both for the production of medical supplies to address the pandemic and traditional manufacturing. As a result, we’ve seen numerous announcements related to SPAC mergers and traditional IPOs, as well as increased mergers and acquisitions more generally.

In the past, reverse mergers would be considered with greater skepticism as small, sometimes unknown companies would use existing public entities in order to bypass regulations associated with IPOs. For instance, Tinkerine and Graphene Labs used reverse mergers to get onto less regulated markets. A reverse merger by 3D Group in Australia showcased the use of such a tactic to perform a pump-and-dump schemes.

More recently, the spat of SPACs that the industry has witnessed represent a laxer attitude toward reverse mergers. Companies that perform these operations don’t need to go through the typical IPO process and don’t have to file the same documents. A company with decent financials, and transparency about those financials, can likely use a SPAC to obtain a single, guaranteed source of capital. However, businesses with less transparent operations can also pursue SPACs without the rigors of a traditional IPO, in which a company must build up a collection of backers, convince a group of investors to participate, and go through banks in order to launch successfully.

Image courtesy of ARK.

Due to the recent excitement, individual investors may be eager to get into the game. According investors we’ve spoken to, including SmarTech Analysis’s own Scott Dunham, this is no hype bubble we’re experiencing. The technology is much more mature. By investing in the market as a whole, ARK hopes to capitalize on this evolution. In fact, it believes that the segment will reach a whopping $120 billion by 2025, which is more than others have anticipated. Whether or not it will get to that point is another story altogether.

Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.

Tagged with: 3d printing investment • ARK • business • investment • PRNT • Solactive

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Investment idea: 3D Systems because 3D printing

Mikhail Gorodilov

makes money on investments

Author profile

expected growth in demand in this area.

Growth potential and duration: 20.5% for 14 months; 54% over 4 years; 11% per year for 15 years.

Why stocks might go up: 3D printing has a great future.

How we act: we take shares now at $32.34.

When creating the material, sources were used that are inaccessible to users from the Russian Federation. We hope you know what to do.

Our thoughts are based on an analysis of the company's business and the personal experience of our investors, but remember: it is not a fact that an investment idea will work as we expect. Everything we write is forecasts and hypotheses, not a call to action. Rely on our thoughts or not - it's up to you. nine0003

And what about the author's forecasts

Research, such as this and this, suggests that the accuracy of target price predictions is low. And this is normal: there are always too many surprises on the stock exchange and accurate forecasts are rarely realized. If the situation were reversed, then funds based on computer algorithms would show results better than people, but alas, they work worse.

Therefore, we do not try to build complex models. The profit forecast in the article is the author's expectations. We indicate this forecast for reference: as with the investment idea as a whole, readers decide for themselves whether to trust the author and focus on the forecast or not. nine0003

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Investment edition

How the company earns

DDD makes 3D printers and provides services in this area. You can see what the company's printers look like on its website, but for the most part, these are printers for the corporate sector.

According to the annual report, the company's revenue is divided into the following segments.

Goods - 61.2%. A variety of printers: for plastic, for metal, for ceramics, and so on. Specialized software for scanning, design and virtual simulations for the medical sector. The segment's gross margin is 31.6% of its revenue. nine0003

Services - 38.8%. Technical support and training services for the company's clients. Production services for the company's customers - from prototyping to more complex projects. Specialized services for the medical sector: surgical planning, printing devices and instruments, building anatomical models, and more. The segment's gross margin is 52.7% of its revenue.

The report lacks detail: it would be useful to know what types of printers the company has - ceramic or metal, how much revenue they generate, and what is the structure of revenue by customer type. We know that the company serves clients from almost every possible industry: everyone always needs to print something large. nine0003

Company revenue by country and region:

  1. Americas - 50.25%. The US accounts for 49.47% of the company's total revenue.
  2. Europe, Middle East and Africa - 38.34%.
  3. Asia Pacific - 11. 41%.

The company is unprofitable.

Revenue and profit for the last 12 months in billions of dollars, total margin as a percentage of revenue. Source: Macrotrends

Arguments in favor of the company

Dropped. The company's shares have fallen in price by 41.57% since February of this year: from $55.35 to $32.34. The fall was quite strong and perhaps we can pick up stocks in anticipation of a rebound. nine0003

Something about a fast growing market. DDD's target market for 3D printing and related solutions and products is expected to increase from $15 billion in 2021 to $37.2 billion in 2026. More recently, DDD acquired Volumetric Biotechnologies, a biomaterial printing company, perhaps from this, those who believe that soon the missing organs for transplantation can be mass-produced on printers will run into the DDD shares.

The company has not the largest capitalization - 4.05 billion dollars. It is possible that its shares will be easy to pump for retail investors because they read somewhere that "the sector is very promising. " nine0003

Prose of the market. In general, the company has something to hope for without speculation. In the Proto Labs idea, we have already discussed the good prospects for companies related to R&D and small-scale production due to the expected increase in corporate sector investment around the world in the renewal of fixed assets. And 3D printing is needed primarily for creating prototypes and a small number of parts.

DDD could also benefit from Biden's infrastructure package, which is about to become a reality. This will stimulate the industry and contribute to the demand for DDD solutions: it will increase the wear and tear of the equipment of manufacturing companies and increase their need to invest in the business. nine0003

Life has become better. In the latest report, DDD showed progress: the loss ratio of its business is declining - and profit may not be far off. This can attract investors from among banks and funds into shares.

Can buy. DDD has 35 years of additive manufacturing experience with solutions for all industries, from dentistry and surgery to jewelry and high-tech manufacturing. Given all of the above, it may well be bought by some large industrial conglomerate. nine0003

What can get in the way

Expensive. The company has a P/S of about 6.55, which is not very low. And if we take into account the unprofitability of the company and the fact that its revenue has not been growing particularly actively in recent years, you can even decide that the company is expensive.

Unprofitable. The company has been on the market for a long time, but it has no profit. Loss will contribute to the volatility of these stocks. Yes, and there is always the possibility of bankruptcy, even taking into account the fact that DDD's accounting is quite accurate: it has enough money to close all urgent debts. nine0003

Not all at once. Waves of investor interest in the field of 3D printing periodically give way to disappointment when it suddenly turns out that not every individual user can print their own house yet.

3D printing technology is still quite raw and needs significant improvement: there are problems with a large number of defects, temperature control. So DDD will remain in the position of such a risky startup for some time to come, the technology of which has not yet been fully mastered. This must be understood and accepted in order not to be surprised by the volatility of these stocks. nine0003

Hot time puts its test. The company has production and assets around the world, and more than half of its sales are made outside the United States. This means that logistical problems, as well as an increase in the cost of labor and raw materials, will be reflected in its reporting. Well, the permanent threat of a new quarantine must also be taken into account: as the experience of 2020 showed, the DDD business does not respond well to a decrease in industrial activity in the world.

As a result

Shares can be taken now at $32.34. And then there are three options:

  1. wait until shares are worth $39. I think we will reach this level in the next 14 months;
  2. wait until the stock is worth $50. Here, you may have to wait 4 years for 3D printing to become widespread;
  3. hold shares for 15 years to see the company become IBM from the world of 3D printing.

But still, it should be remembered that this idea is very volatile. So don't invest in these stocks unless you're ready for the storm. nine0003

3D printing market. Is it time to buy shares? / Habr

In this article I would like to talk about companies, each of which is a "unicorn". Shares of two of the three can already be bought on the New York Stock Exchange. There is a pattern: they were all born in the large Boston metropolitan area. And if Silicon Valley is a Mecca for software startups, then Boston, and especially the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is the Medina for manufacturing innovation.

I'll make it clear right away: I won't analyze the entire 3D printing market, but will focus on some of the most notable representatives of the desktop 3D printing segment. But even here everything is very conditional, since in the process of improving technology, products smoothly flow from one category to another, and roughly three main categories can be distinguished: desktop, professional and industrial. So…

In 2011, three American students founded Formlabs in their garage. It was headed by Max Lobowski. Born into a family of engineers - emigrants from Ukraine, from his youth he was interested in robotics and new technologies, attended various specialized additional classes in high school. After earning a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, he went on to graduate school at MIT, where he began designing his desktop 3D printer, which is both powerful and affordable. nine0003 Max Lobowski

The friends were able to quickly get an angel investment, with which they launched their first product, the Formlabs Form 1 printer, in 2013. On the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, they managed to raise almost $ 3 million from more than 2,000 bakers from around the world, who were excited about the new product, which promised to make 3D printing accessible to almost everyone. At that time, there were models of printers on the market using the technology of illumination with a laser beam of photopolymer resin (SLA) with a price of 100 thousand dollars, Formlabs offered a printer for 1500 dollars. The company, of course, faced a lot of difficulties in the production of the first batch, but it managed to ship the printers to all buyers. And even though they were far from perfect, this made it possible to attract round A investments in the amount of 19million dollars and return the "angel" money.

The company then continued to improve its product and create an ecosystem like Apple, which includes 3D printers themselves, consumables (resins for various tasks), software for preparing models for printing, and post-processing equipment. In 2019, the company's turnover reached $100 million, in May 2021 it received $150 million in a round of E from the SoftBank Investment Advisers fund, valuing the company at $2 billion. After that, there was talk of an IPO, which would be an absolutely logical step, since investment funds are planning this in the future for 7-10 years, and this period has already come for investors of the first round. nine0003

However, despite high market expectations, Max Lobowski said in an interview with BizJournals that he is in no rush to go public: “We would rather take our time and better prepare to be a great public company… We make more money than all 3D -companies taken together that have gone public with the help of SPAC (a procedure that allows startups to go public by merging with another private company). However, when I look at really large, successful, long-term public projects, which is what we are aiming for, I see that they are on a completely different level in terms of predictability and profitability than we are. ” These are serious words, and apparently the head of the company has reason to pronounce them. Most likely, the forecast of the company's capitalization in the region of 4-6 billion dollars with a successful initial offering, which will make it the largest company in the market, because even the result of the veteran and long-term market leader - 3DSystems as of August 2021 is no more than 3.5 billion. dollars. nine0003

Unlike the students at Formlabs, Markforged was founded by older guys. However, even here it was not without MIT. MIT alumnus Mark Greg encountered 3D printing while his company was doing a job for the US Navy. Experiments in the field of improving the quality of products led him to the idea of ​​​​creating a printer that could reinforce the printed model with carbon fiber to make it strong and suitable for use under load.

Employees of the company together with the Metal X printer, Mark Greg is seated to the right of the printer. nine0002 The company was founded in 2013, and already in 2014 at the Solidworks World exhibition, the startup presented its first product - the Mark One printer, which had two extruders and could reinforce the printed model with nylon, fiberglass and even Kevlar. Later, The Digital Forge, a cloud-based print management platform, was introduced, and already in 2017, MarkForged announced the release of a Metal X desktop metal 3D printer worth $100,000, while competitors' counterparts cost a million. In 2020, the company's turnover amounted to $ 70 million, and the management decided to bring the company to an IPO using SPAC. The company introduced the concept of additive manufacturing 2.0 to potential investors, allowing the production of finished products rather than prototypes, paving the way for 3D printing to the production of goods. The volume of this market is estimated by experts at 13 trillion dollars. nine0003

Based on the Wholers Report, in 2020 the company predicted the growth of the additive technologies market at an average rate of 27%, which means that in the next 8 years from the current 18 billion dollars, the market will grow to 118 billion in 2029 from 10 multiple growth of own revenue up to 700 million dollars already in 2025.

On July 15, 2021, MarkForged was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MKFG. The placement was estimated at 2 billion dollars, but a month later the shares lost a little in price, and the current capitalization is about 1.5 billion dollars. The question remains: is it worth buying shares of a company that plans to be unprofitable for at least another 2 years (the company predicts a turnover of about $100 million this year). nine0003

On the one hand, there are enough companies on the market trading at even higher multiples, and on the other hand, 3D printing is not yet such a mature technology that one can be sure of the 100% success of exactly the concept that MarkForged offers. In fact, the company itself considers the emergence of new technologies as one of the risks that could undermine its current technological superiority. In general, investors are now positive about the future of 3D printing. They were impressed by how the technology performed in the first, most difficult months of the pandemic, when production chains were disrupted and many transport arteries stopped working. With the help of 3D printing, it was quickly possible to establish the production of urgently needed valves for ventilation, protective masks, adapters and much more. The concept of distributed production immediately turned from a beautiful idea into a real necessity. So, as always, the coin has two sides, but if you are interested in stocks with great potential, you should at least take a closer look at this company and the market of additive technologies in general. nine0003

The last one in my story is DeskTop Metal. Formlabs was created by MIT students, Markforged - MIT graduates, DeskTop Metal was created by experienced entrepreneurs Rick Fulop and Johan Mayerberg, as well as 4 (!) MIT professors. Going to the goal, Rick Fulop founded 6 different companies, also headed an investment fund. Johan Maierberg has been a lead engineer for various companies and became the CTO of DeskTop Metal.

Rick Fulop in front of DeskTop Metal Studio System 9 printers0002 The company's goal was to create an affordable desktop 3D printer that prints metal models. The company immediately became a favorite among investors and attracted investment rounds with enviable constancy. Among her donors were BMW, Ford Motor, Stratasys (a pioneer in the creation of 3D printing technology), SaudiAramco investment fund, General Electric and others. The total valuation in the latest round reached $2.4 billion, with a paltry $26 million turnover in 2019. The funds received were used for R&D and attracting the best engineers and developers to the company. In 2017, a three-component metal printing system based on FDM layer-by-layer printing technology was introduced, followed by burning and baking the final model. The system was very "raw": a small amount of materials was available for printing, and the printing itself had a lot of restrictions, the final products looked rough with large dimensional errors. Nevertheless, the developments continued, and the company announced its potential star - the Production System, a high-speed metal printing system, which can hardly be called a desktop one. The company claims that its Single Pass Jetting technology is 100 times faster than any other existing metal 3D printing technology, but deliveries of printers should begin only at the end of this year, so in this case you have to take our word for it. nine0003

The company entered the IPO on December 10, 2020 under the same SPAC scheme and in its presentation for potential investors outlined the following parameters: planned turnover in 2025 - 942 million dollars, reaching operating profit in 2023, and also indicated that , which plans to spend a significant portion of the proceeds on acquisitions of other 3D printing companies.

Capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange at the time of its IPO on December 10 was a fantastic $6 billion. During the placement, $580 million was raised and the company was assigned the laconic ticker DM. Already in February 2021, the shares rose even more, and the company's capitalization exceeded $8 billion. DM has said it will be the first company in 3D printing history to have a capitalization of over $10 billion. Having received huge funds at its disposal, already in January 2021, DM announced the first takeover deal: the German manufacturer of professional photopolymer 3D printers EnvisionTEC (founded in 2002 and is one of the oldest on the market) was bought for $ 300 million. For me, this choice was not obvious, it is difficult to find something in common between DM and EnvisionTEC and it will be difficult to achieve a significant synergistic effect from this transaction. EnvisionTEC has continued to operate under its own brand as a 100% subsidiary of DM and plans to release a number of new models for its key customers - dental clinics and jewelry companies. Also during this year, several small companies specializing in the production of materials and software were bought. DM expands its patent base due to this and gathers under its wing the best ideas and people. The most high-profile acquisition was the $575 million purchase announced in August of another public company, the American ExOne. Established in 2005 in Pittsburgh, it specializes in the production of industrial 3D printers for creating injection molds from sand and other materials. It is also noteworthy that she managed to commercialize a patent for this technology, issued by MIT back in 1993 year. In this case, we can say that the product lines of DM and ExOne are closer to each other and they have already presented a joint portfolio based on the products of both companies, in which one product complements the other.

It would be logical to assume that DM stock skyrocketed after such high-profile acquisitions, but in reality the opposite happened. Since its peak in February, the shares have fallen 4 times and are now trading at $8 a share, and the capitalization is slightly over $2 billion. Apparently, the first euphoria of investors gave way to a more sober approach to the current results of the company. Perhaps this was influenced by the dissatisfaction of some ExOne shareholders, who considered the sale price of the company unfair and were preparing a class action lawsuit against management in order to block the deal. nine0003

Should I buy DM stock now that it has fallen so much, or wait for further decline? I would say that their current level is very comfortable for entry, but, of course, such investments also have a certain risk. This is despite the fact that the company has reported strong first half results, which DM expects to generate over $100 million in revenue this year.

Summing up, I would like to say that a number of stock analysts consider what is happening in the market of additive technologies to be a "renaissance". The market came into motion after the pandemic, which gave everyone hope that the technology was ripe for serious tasks, and that the situation in the industry of 2013-2014 would not repeat itself. Then the technique was still very "raw", but attracted a lot of attention from the press and potential investors. This drove the stocks of market leaders 3DSystems and Stratasys to unknown heights, and then, when there was disappointment in the results of their work, the fall reached 20 times from peak values.

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