3d systems corp

Loose lips sink ships. Or at least they try to...

Take the case of 3D Systems Inc. (NYSE:DDD). Investors who bailed on the stock recently - and there were a lot of them - missed a great rally on Tuesday. That 8.5% gain on heavy volume put the stock among the top 20 gainers of its exchange.

It would be easy to chalk that gain up to the market's overall rally that day.

No doubt, investors were thrilled to see evidence that Washington just may solve its budget impasse before we go over the "fiscal cliff." But that's not what's really going on here...

As I see it, DDD's rebound earlier this week was sweet justice indeed.

Or perhaps even revenge.

See, the stock had recently come under huge selling pressure after the financial advisory website Seeking Alpha slammed the company last week. An article on Seeking Alpha questioned the firm's huge recent sales growth, accusing management of "hiding something."

I've analyzed publicly traded firms for more than 30 years and I can tell you - that is a very serious charge.

In response, 3D Systems made the unusual move of holding a conference call to dispute Seeking Alpha's critique. Senior managers gave analysts an on-the-record look at the firm's accounting practices.
This call ranks as a key event in the recent history of 3D Systems' stock, which is up more than 185% so far this year. (Like I keep saying, you really can make a lot of money in this field.)

That's why I'm telling you, you have to be very careful who you listen to about tech stocks. So, let me take a moment to tell you what's really going on with DDD.

Here are three reasons I think DDD has the potential to blow that 185% gain out of the water.