DDD Stock Price Forecast: Figure 4 Technology Is 3D Systems’ Big Leap To Large-Scale Manufacturing

motek 1The article was written by Motek Moyen Research Seeking Alpha’s #1 Writer on Long Ideas and #2 in Technology  – Senior Analyst at I Know First

DDD Stock Price Forecast

Summary:

  • DDD’s price is up more than 57% since my Buy rating recommendation in March 26.
  • I believe the stock has more upside potential for the rest of 2017. The recent unveiling of the 3D Systems’ Figure 4 Technology is a notable stock catalyst.
  • Figure 4 Technology is the company’s showcase technology that will shift 3D printing from mere product prototyping to large scale manufacturing.
  • There is a demand for large-volume production of custom parts that are no longer being manufactured (but are still needed by products bought and still being used by people).
  • DDD has strong buy signals based on its 1-month, 3-month, and one-year algorithmic market trend forecasts.

I went long on 3D Systems (DDD) last March. I made a Buy recommendation for DDD on March 26. The stock has shot up more than 57% since that time. However, I still believe DDD is worth a Buy. The recent unveiling of Figure 4 Technology earlier this month is an obvious catalyst for 3D Systems’ future.

I believe many investors liked the new proposition that 3D Systems’ Figure 4 Technology could catapult 3D printing or additive manufacturing to large scale production. Beforehand, the 3D printing industry was largely relegated to product prototyping and small-scale production of custom parts.

Figure 4 Technology is configurable assembly of interconnected SLA printers for mass production of custom parts and products. It is also being proposed as a platform for traditional manufacturers to bring their production facility to the digital era.

Source: 3D Systems

The Figure 4 concept is to let a small or big manufacturer to use an assembly factory of 16-print factory of printers to quickly produce custom parts for a variety of needs. Going forward, there is a good chance that a 160-print or 1,600-print Figure 4 product could ship out.

My point is thatFigure 4 finally delivers the economy of scale advantage to additive manufacturing. By using 3D printers like a traditional factory’s assembly line, custom parts could be quickly mass produced at reasonable costs.

Why There is An Obvious Need For Large-Scale 3D Printing

History taught us that manufacturing is not limited to a 16-count production rate. In order for additive manufacturing to gain mainstream industry acceptance, 3D printers should accomplish production rate of 1,600-count per minute or (10 minutes). Traditional manufacturers will only shift to the digital customizable advantage of 3D printers if they could get acceptable large-scale production rate.

There really is a big need for mass production of custom parts and personalized products. Just look around you, there are 15-year old cars, computers, appliances, ships, planes, buildings, and other commercial products that are still being used by people. The problem is the original manufacturers no longer produce parts for their 15-year old products.

Old cars are still usable if only they get steady supply of replacement parts. The same principle is true for everything. People will buy custom replacement parts for phased out products that they continue to use. Take for example my 1994 Honda Civic car, its fuel pump assembly needs a replacement but Honda is not making them anymore. The only available replacement for it is a surplus fuel pump that needs to be imported from Japan.

Figure 4 users will make tons of money producing 1:1 brand-new (not surplus or used) copy of phased-out parts/components of old cars. There are still hundreds of millions of old cars that need replacement parts around the world. My 2008-era iMac needs a new video card but there’s no replacement for that ATI video card. A smart businessman could buy a 16-print Figure 4 printer from 3D Systems and make a killing from mass producing replacement parts for phased-out parts of older Mac computers.

My fearless forecast is that 3D Systems could double up its annual revenue from sales of Figure 4 3D printers.

Conclusion

Making 3D printers for large-scale production is a good reason for us to keep the faith in 3D Systems. This leader of additive manufacturer is finally making the right move to make 3D printers a real replacement for traditional manufacturing. Figure 4 printers will not remain in a 16-print capacity configuration for long. Two or three years from now, savvy businessmen will see the economic potential of using 160-print Figure 4 printers to quickly mass produce phased out parts/components.

My Buy recommendation for DDD is again backed by the strong Buy signals from the algorithmic market trend forecasts from I Know First.

 

Past I Know First Success With 3D Systems

I Know First has been bullish on GOOGL shares in past forecasts. On December 11, 2016, I know First Analyst wrote about DDD. Since then, DDD shares have risen. See chart below.