3D Printing Shares Slip On Hewlett-Packard Entry

Three-dimensional printing companies swooned in the stock market Wednesday as computer giant Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ made its long-awaited move into the market.

Hewlett-Packard's entry into the 3D printing sector "could even put some other companies out of business," analyst Terry Wolhers told Forbes.

Hewlett-Packard's Multi Jet Fusion has a resolution twice that of comparable products by Stratasys Ltd. and 3D Systems, while the device's array of print heads are 10 times faster than competing units.

The Multi Jet Fusion was unveiled at a company event in New York.

Hewlett-Packard also unveiled its Sprout PC concept. Besides a commercial market for this device, Hewlett-Packard figures there are six million U.S. households with income and potential interest in the device.

The 3D business will become part of the split out HP Inc. to be headed by Dion Weisler next year.

Companies affected by the news included ExOne Co XONE, which slid more than 6 percent to $22.92 per share; 3D Systems Corporation DDD traded down 5 percent to $36.78 per share while Voxeljet AG VJET dropped nearly 4 percent to $13.52 per share.