3-D Printers Aren't Prototypes for Stock Buyers

Daniel Holland: Over the last couple of years, asset valuations in the 3-D printing space have more than doubled, giving us a reason to site and think about why it is that the businesses are performing the way that they are and why the stock market has reacted the way that it has.

Over the past couple of years, we have a textbook example of what happens when you have strong business fundamentals as well as a compelling strong growth story and then an investor base that's just hungry for growth.

On the business fundamentals side, we see the 3-D printing space serving a need for the manufacturing community for rapid prototyping as well as a way to supplement traditional manufacturing techniques, being able to use additive manufacturing to supplement traditional manufacturing techniques.

On the growth side, we've seen the companies being able to saturate a market that wasn't really existing before and giving us a good reason to think about the potential opportunity for new applications and new designs in this space. 

That said, when we think about where the investment opportunities are right now, investors are left with having to pick between businesses that have now-deteriorating business fundamentals, but then lofty valuations. And that's a test that we would rather stay away from if we had a choice.