Friday, April 4, 2014

New York's 3-D Printing Expo: Metalworking Is the Star (DDD; AMAVF)

But you knew that.
From Barron's Tech Trader Daily:
Shares of 3-D printer maker 3D Systems (DDD) are down $1.31, or 2.3%, at $55.15, falling with the broader market despite some upbeat Street notes this morning regarding the company’s appearance at the 3D Printing Expo in New York this week.

Competitor Stratesys (SSYS) did not participate but had business units there such as its Solid Concepts operation, acquired just this week.

Canaccord Genuity’s Bobby Burleson reiterates a Buy rating on the shares, and a $100 price target, after meeting with the company’s chief financial officer, Damon Gregoire.

Burleson writes that he came away with a positive view on the company’s “Phenix” metal-printing equipment, which the company picked up when it took a majority stake in Phenix Systems last year, while metal printing should also benefit Arcam (ARCM):

Demand for Phenix machines is strong and we believe the company is able to ship between 15-20 machines per quarter exiting Q1. Capacity is expanding and we forecast $40M in revenue for 2014. Importantly, DDD remains overbooked for Phenix and can ship everything it builds. At this run rate, we see DDD exiting 2014 with substantial market share for powder bed fusion systems. While several processes are capable of producing metal parts, we see powder bed fusion (PBF) better positioned for series production in metal when compared to directed energy deposition and binder jetting. Arcam and DDD in particular should benefit as public AM suppliers shipping metal capable machines.

Burleson is also enthusiastic about the company’s push into making objects for medical applications with the announcement on Wednesday the company will buy Medical Modeling:

The acquisition of Medical Modeling brings expertise in orthopedic implants, surgical models and custom surgical guides. We expect DDD to support existing Arcam EBM technology for implants and to install Phenix machines where appropriate as a complimentary technology. Tier one orthopedic implant customers are adopting AM for production in their product roadmap. Faster speeds, new materials, and emerging software will increase adoption of AM by making AM parts better and less expensive. Customers have a preference for open platforms so they can optimize their designs and generate differentiated process know how, and this trend favors Arcam and DDD.

On the sidelines of the showJefferies & Co.’s Peter Misek, who has a Buy rating on 3D Systems, Stratasys, Arcam, and Exone (XONE), held a “summit” on the industry with a number of participants....MORE
AMAVF, the class of the publicly-traded-metalworking field is changing hands at $34.15 up 73 cents and down considerably from the January all-time high of $50.25. All prices adjusted for the 4:1 split Jan. 21, 2014.