The 3D Printing ETF (PRNT ), the lone ETF focusing on the 3D printing theme, notched a modest gain last week, adding more momentum as the fund closes in another round of record highs.
PRNT is higher by almost 17% over the past 90 days. PRNT debuted nearly three years ago as the first US-listed ETF dedicated to the 3D printing theme. The fund is one of two passively managed products from New York-based Ark Investment Management. ARK believes 3D printing will revolutionize manufacturing by collapsing the time between design and production, reducing costs, and enabling greater design complexity, accuracy, and customization than traditional manufacturing.
A pair of PRNT holdings posted some impressive gains last week.
“Materialise (MTLS) 1 closed up approximately 19% on Wednesday, continuing the strong move up in place for roughly six weeks,” according to ARK Invest. “3D printing software should help reconfigure supply chains and solve short-term part shortages as manufacturing continues to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.”
Power of PRNT
Adding to the allure of PRNT is that the coronavirus pandemic is highlighting numerous applications for 3D printing in the healthcare market, a trend that’s expected to last well beyond the virus’s expiration date. As regulatory guidelines become clearer, healthcare is expected to be a major market for 3D printing products and services in the years ahead.
PRNT’s underlying index index “is composed of equity securities and depositary receipts of exchange-listed companies from the U.S., non-U.S. developed markets and Taiwan that are engaged in 3D printing-related businesses within the following business lines: (i) 3D printing hardware, (ii) computer-aided design (“CAD”) and 3D printing simulation software, (iii) 3D printing centers, (iv) scanning and measurement, and (v) 3D printing materials,” according to Ark.
Another PRNT component provided some excitement last Wednesday.
“ExOne (XONE) closed up more than 16% on Wednesday, perhaps because of continued investor interest in binder jetting 3D printing technology now that Desktop Metal plans to go public,” according to ARK.
