3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) shares tanked about 10% last week. But the stock still outperformed peers in May. 3D Systems shares rose about 6.5% last month. In contrast, most of its rivals ended the month in red. The world’s largest 3D printing company benefited from improved outlook and rising expectations that the company’s software costs would fall in the near future, says Troy Kuhn of BidnessETC.
Autodesk to help 3D Systems bring down costs
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) shares plunged on April 29 after the company’s first quarter results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company’s gross margins narrowed by 1.3%. At the beginning of May, Imperial Capital analyst Ashok Kumar initiated coverage of the stock with an Outperform rating and $60 price target. Shares of the Rock Hill-based company got another boost when Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS) reported better than expected first quarter revenues. Its topline performance painted a bright picture of the 3D printing industry’s future prospects.
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) stock was also helped by Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)’s announcement that it will soon launch an open source software that will bring down costs for 3D printer manufacturers. Autodesk will initially make the software, called Spark, available to public for further experimentation and development. Shares of 3D Systems continued to rally as the month progressed.
3D Systems to make some big acquisitions
But 3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) announced on May 28 that it would sell 5.95 million shares in a secondary offering priced at $53.28 apiece. Though, the company raised about $317 million in gross proceeds, the news of the offering brought down the stock by about 10%. The secondary offering will dilute the existing stockholders by 5.8%. 3D Systems said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and to fund future acquisitions. The Rock Hill-based company now has more than $620 million in cash. RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani believes that 3D Systems will eventually make some big-ticket deals to further bolster its leading position in the 3D printing industry. Here is the list of potential acquisition targets.
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) shares fell 1.93% to $50.81 at 11:42 AM EDT on Tuesday.
