3D Systems Stock Bounces Near Key Price Point
Earnings are less than a week away
3D Systems Corporation (NYSE:DDD) is trading up 4.3% at $17.40 this morning, after Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "underweight" and lifted its price target to $17 from $14. The brokerage firm cited the company's recent partnership with Align Technology (ALGN) as a source of future growth, along with the launch of DDD's Figure 4 platform.
Before today, the shares had been trending lower since peaking at $21.78 in late August, but seems to have found support at the $16 mark. This price point is significant for multiple reasons; not only is it double the equity's 12-month low, but it's the site of an early August bull gap and the July highs. On the whole, 3D Systems stock has been strong in 2018, more than doubling year-to-date.
Still, there's a ton of skepticism surrounding the shares. Short interest represents almost 24% of DDD's float, and only one of the eight analysts in coverage recommend it as a "buy." This combination of technical strength and bearish sentiment makes the stock an intriguing target, from a contrarian perspective.
Checking in on some options data, near-term volatility expectations seem rather low, considering the company is set to report earnings next Tuesday, Oct. 30. For instance, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 94% ranks in the bottom third of readings from the past year, suggesting premiums on short-term contracts are relatively cheap at the moment.