Why Stratasys, Proto Labs, and Desktop Metal Stocks Dropped 10% This Week
What happened
Stocks tied to the 3D printing industry -- also known as
Still, shares of 3D printers are hurting worse than most, with Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) declining 11.1%, Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB) down 12.1%, and Desktop Metal (NYSE: DM) -- a recent
So what
Why might that be? The macroeconomic answers are pretty clear: The delta variant of the coronavirus is running amok -- with nearly 138,000 new reports of infections in the U.S. as of the latest data Wednesday. This is depressing consumer confidence today, and perhaps the whole economy tomorrow.
Speaking more micro-economically, however, it's not entirely clear why this news would be worse news for 3D printers than for other types of companies. Nor has there been any particular bad news regarding Stratasys, Proto Labs, or Desktop Metal to explain their stock price slides.
Now what
Of course, if you flip that around, the fact that there is no bad news -- or at least no news specifically bad for 3D printing -- then it might actually be good news for investors looking for babies that have been thrown out with the bathwater. Out of this group of three 3D printing stocks, Proto Labs looks like the most likely candidate for this category.
Mind you, at a recent valuation of 48 times trailing earnings, even Proto Labs is no obvious bargain. But it is a company with positive
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