After taking a cue from singer Prince and partying like it was 1999 earlier this decade, 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) has been struggling since 2014. Shares of the diversified 3D printing company are down a whopping 83% over the last five years and are in the red 17% so far this year.
The future, however, remains very bright for 3D printing in general, which continues to make steady technological advances. As printing speeds increase and material availability expands, there are increasingly greater use cases for the technology. Indeed, leading industry analyst Wohlers Associates projects that worldwide 3D printing sales and services revenue will grow from $7.3 billion in 2017 to $35.6 billion by 2024.
Given the positive sector outlook and the fact that 3D Systems arguably has some valuable intellectual property, many investors are likely wondering: Is 3D Systems stock a buy?