We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Stocks To Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) stands against the other 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks.
The additive manufacturing industry is among the most revolutionary areas in the general manufacturing and industrial sectors. These days, 3D printing has become widely used in various fields, such as healthcare equipment manufacturing, metal fabrication, housing construction, and even dental operations. Considering the widespread use of 3D printing technology in various fields across the globe, the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry has come to be considered as a high-growth area in manufacturing, with many investors keeping a close eye on 3D printing stocks and adding them to their portfolios. For instance, Cathie Wood, a reputable growth investor, operates a dedicated Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that focuses solely on manufacturing technology and 3D printing stocks.
Growing Interest and Engagement in Additive Manufacturing
The impact and growth potential of the additive manufacturing industry is being felt not only in the markets, but on a federal government level as well. In 2022, the Biden Administration launched the Additive Manufacturing Forward initiative to promote the use of additive manufacturing and 3D printing in the US. The initiative was propelled forward by the profitable and attractive uses of 3D printing. For instance, the use of additively-manufactured fuel nozzles for commercial airplane engines by General Electric was cited by the White House as being the reason why its fuel nozzles achieved 30% cost savings while also being 25% lighter and five times more durable than regular fuel nozzles.
It’s not just the government that is taking an interest in 3D printing companies and technologies. Many tech companies have also been launching products in the 3D printing and additive manufacturing space to establish their presence in this area. Microsoft developed and launched a 3D Builder application, and also has its own 3D printers in the market. Autodesk is known for its Autodesk Fusion, a critical tool for preparing 3D models for printing. Finally, HP is known for its Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printing technology, among other products in this space.
Some may feel that the additive manufacturing industry is lagging behind other areas in the market. However, a closer look at the performance of individual stocks in this industry highlights the fact that many of them are fiscally performing well, and can be considered as good investments today.
Considering the high-growth potential of 3D printing stocks in today’s market, particularly in light of the growing use of additive manufacturing in various fields, we have compiled a list of the best 3D printing and additive manufacturing stocks to buy now. You can also take a look at the best 3D printing companies in the US and what happened to 3D printing stocks?.
Our Methodology
We selected the top holdings of Cathie Wood’s 3D Printing ETF and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them. For this, we used Insider Monkey’s hedge fund data for the first quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A software company’s engineer staring at a computer monitor with intense concentration.
PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42
PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) is an application software company in Boston, Massachusetts. The company offers two product groups, namely computer-aided design and lifecycle management. The former offers software for data authoring, and the latter offers software for product data management and process orchestration.
Investors should consider buying PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) today because it is benefitting from several growth catalysts, such as the digitalization of the manufacturing world and the overall transition to cloud-based SaaS solutions, which PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) readily provides. As a result, the company’s software solutions are becoming increasingly valuable for investors and customers alike.
PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) had 42 hedge funds long its stock in the first quarter, with a total stake value of $2.6 billion.
Here’s what Madison Investments said about PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) in its first-quarter 2024 investor letter:
“PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) was one of our oldest portfolio holdings (~23 years!) and best performing stocks. We made our initial investment in PTC in 2001(in those days the company’s full name was Parametric Technology Corporation) after the dot com crash when the stock had an equity market value of approximately $1billion. We sold our final share near an equity market value of approximately $22billion. When we first initiated the investment position, we saw an attractively valued software company that provided very sticky, difficult to replace design software for engineers in the manufacturing sector. Over that 20-year span, PTC has grown both organically and through strategic M&A into one of the most vital design software engineering platforms in the world. Companies like BMW, Rockwell International, Medtronic, Hitachi, Boeing, Airbus, Volvo, Cannondale, Toyota, and GM all use PTC to design, collaborate and maintain the lifecycle of their franchise products and platforms. This investment illustrates not only the financial potential and opportunity of small cap investing but also our PMV process to identify and capitalize on strategic assets like PTC.”
Overall PTC ranks 4th on our list of the best 3D printing and additive stocks to buy. You can visit 10 Best 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Stocks To Buy to see the other 3D printing and additive stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of PTC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PTC but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.