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The health of the battered 3D printer industry will come into focus when Stratasys ( SSYS ) reports fourth-quarter earnings Thursday morning. Shares of Stratasys and 3D Systems ( DDD ) have been crushed since mid-2014, as both have posted disappointing quarterly earnings reports going back more than a year. But both stocks have rebounded in the past month or more. Stratasys stock is up 43% since hitting an all-time low of 14.88 on Jan. 26. 3D Systems stock has nearly doubled since hitting an all-time low of 6 on Jan. 20. ExOne ( XONE ) is up more than 60% from its low of 6.61 on Jan. 20. Voxeljet ( VJET ) is up nearly 35% from its all-time low of 3.50, also on Jan. 20. Stratasys stock was up 5%, above 21, in midday trading in the stock market today , while 3D Systems stock was up 3%, near 12. “There are no signs of a broad-based recovery yet, in our view, so demand commentary from Stratasys will be important,” wrote Weston Twigg, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, in a research note. Stratasys is expected to report Q4 revenue of $168.3 million, down 22% from Q4 2014, to mark its second quarter in a row of declining sales. The consensus on earnings per share minus items, according to a Thomson Reuters survey, calls for the company to swing to a 12-cent per-share loss from a 48-cent profit in the year-earlier quarter. Cowen analyst Robert Stone on Tuesday cut his price target on Stratasys stock to 19 from 25, as he lowered revenue expectations. “An industry rebound is not yet visible amid weak global capital spending trends,” Stone wrote in a research note. Meanwhile, 3D Systems last week delayed its Q4 earnings report for reasons “related to the completion of work related to the goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge.” It preannounced Q4 revenue expectations of approximately $183 million, down 2% and the second quarter in a row of falling sales but above the consensus estimate of $161 million. In December, 3D Systems announced it would discontinue its consumer 3D printer line. “While the better-than-expected revenue (of 3D Systems) is encouraging, we would caution not to read too much into Q4 in terms of any normalizing revenue run rate,” wrote Canaccord Genuity analyst Bobby Burleson in a research note. Scalper1 News
Scalper1 News