3D Printing Consumer Market Is Bunk; Analyst Sees Real Money WIth Industy

The 3D printing industry's consumer segment is over hyped and serious money remains in industrial prototyping education and high-end amateurs, an analyst said Thursday. To that end, Stratasys Ltd. SSYS and 3D Systems Corp. DDD are best-positioned to boost the technology's penetration of industrial and educational markets, according to Jeffries' Jason North, who has a Buy rating on both. North also likes Proto Labs PRLB for the same reasons, but finds the shares pricey and maintains a Hold rating. That penetration of credible markets now stands at an estimated 9 percent to 23 percent, and should increase as to high as 79 percent in the next three years, North said. Meanwhile in the consumer market, Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN currently best-selling 3D printer creates plastic bobble heads and figurines -- and that's about it. Customer complaints cite the devices small size, fragility and lack of color accuracy, said North, who analyzed the company's 3D store launched July 28. Moreover, only 7 percent of the 260 products on Amazon had been reviewed by customers, suggesting a lack of interest. 3D Systems closed Thursday at $49.32; Stratasys at $111.10 with both little changed. Proto Labs fell 1.7 percent to $76.05