Another 3D printing company goes public this week:
The voxeljet AG SEC filings: sec.gov
Voxeljet IPO jumps on 3D printing bandwagon
German company looking to raise almost $100 million by going public
By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
Oct. 16, 2013, 1:43 p.m. EDT
Voxeljet makes 3D printers used in many applications -- including the production of film props such as the mock Aston Martin pictured. _______________
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The arena for publicly traded 3D printing companies is about to get a little more crowded this week when Voxeljet AG enters the fray with an IPO that could raise almost $100 million for the Freidberg, Germany-based company.
Voxeljet is on tap to price 6.5 million shares on Thursday night, in a range of $13 to $15 a share, and start trading publicly Friday morning. The company claims that, due to the size of its printing boxes and speeds, it offers its customers the highest volume output possible in the 3D printing market. The company intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “VJET.”
When it filed to go public, Voxeljet said that for its 2012 fiscal year it earned $276,000 on $11.3 million in sales. Revenues grew by 20% from the previous fiscal year.
3D printers are gaining popularity in the manufacturing sector, in particular, as the devices are commonly used to create solid models of products in businesses such as the automotive, medical and industrial design industries. Over the past few years, as technologies have improved, 3D priting company’s have met with strong responses from investors.
In February, ExOne Co. went public at $18 a share, and rose to a high of $78.80 on August 13. However, a weaker-than-expected earnings report in August, and a 3 million-share secondary stock offering in September, which diluted the value of ExOne’s shares on the open market, have conspired to bring the company’s stock price down to its current price of $53.78.
Among other leading 3D printing companies, 3D Systems Corp. has seen its shares rise 54% this year, while Stratasys Ltd. is up more than 36%.
Wall Street has largely been giving a thumbs-up to the sector. In late August, Citigroup set buy ratings for 3D Systems and Stratasys, with analyst Kenneth Wong saying the sector “is on the cusp of seeing much broader adoption across more upstream production applications and the consumer end market,” which could triple the size of the market within 5 years.
A few weeks later, Credit Suisse started coverage of the group with a buy rating for 3D Systems and a neutral call on Stratasys. ExOne was given a bearish underperform rating, with the broker citing in part a “rich valuation.”
Rex Crum is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco. Follow him on Twitter @mktwcrum.
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