Stock Market News

3D-Printing Exchange-Traded Fund Rises

ARK 3D Printing (PRNT) is a unique exchange-traded fund (ETF) that focuses on the advent of one of the biggest technological advancements of our time.

3D printing refers to the process of creating a three-dimensional objects. Theoretically, almost anything can be “printed,” ranging from a slice of pizza to electric cars.

PRNT is the first ETF to track an index composed of stocks that are directly involved in 3D printing and 3D-printing-related businesses. Those businesses include printing software, hardware, printing centers and scanners. The fund is roughly two-thirds invested in U.S. equities and one-third in overseas markets (mostly Europe), but could expand its holdings to several Taiwanese technology companies.

Drawing strength from the inherent push for technological advancement around the world, managers of PRNT are expecting 3D printing to revolutionize manufacturing. As the technologic basis for 3D printing gradually enters a more mature phase, some analysts estimate that 3D printing soon will appeal to a wider audience, which would be excellent news for PRNT.

In September 2016, General Electric (GE) spent $1.4 billion on two large acquisitions of 3D printing companies Arcam and SLM Solutions. GE also plans to bring 1,000 3D printing machines online over the next decade, which is huge.

Year to date, PRNT has returned 13.80% to beat out the S&P 500’s return of 8.63%. From the chart below, you can see that the price of PRNT started off the year in an uncertain fashion but has sharply spiked in the last month by about 16% to trade in the $26 range. PRNT has an expense ratio of 0.66% and does not pay a dividend.

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Top holdings for PRNT include 3D Systems Corp (DDD), 6.59%; ExOne Co (XONE), 6.48%; MGI Digital Technology (ALMDG), 6.43%; Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS), 5.57%; and SLM Solutions Group AG (AM3D), 5.38%.

If you believe in the strength of the growing 3D printing industry, I encourage you to look to ARK 3D Printing (PRNT) as a possible addition to your portfolio.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an email. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.

Jim Woods

Jim Woods is a 20-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor. Jim is the editor of Successful Investing, the Bullseye Stock Trader, and The Deep Woods (formerly the Weekly ETF Report). His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. His articles have appeared on many leading financial websites, including StockInvestor.com, InvestorPlace.com, Main Street Investor, MarketWatch, Street Authority, Human Events and many others. Jim formerly worked with Investor’s Business Daily founder William J. O’Neil, helping to author training courses in the CANSLIM stock-picking methodology. The independent firm TipRanks rates Jim the No. 3 financial blogger in the world (out of more than 6,000). TipRanks calculates that, since 2012, he's made 361 successful recommendations out of 499 total, earning a success rate of 72% and a +15.3% average return per recommendation. He is known in professional and personal circles as “The Renaissance Man,” because his expertise includes such varied fields as composing and performing music; Western horsemanship, combat marksmanship, martial arts, auto racing and bodybuilding. Jim holds a BA in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a former U.S. Army paratrooper. A self-described “radical for capitalism,” he celebrates the virtue of making money from his Southern California horse ranch.