What happened
Shares of RAIN RFID specialist Impinj (PI 1.61%)fell 25.4% in November 2017, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The stock plunged as much as 35% lower in a single day, following the release of a disappointing earnings report.
So what
In the third quarter, Impinj's top-line sales rose 5% year over year to land at $32.6 million. The year-ago period's adjusted net profit of $0.10 per share turned into a $0.08 loss per share. The sales performance was in line with Wall Street's projections, but analysts had been looking for a smaller loss of $0.03 per share. Guidance for the next quarter also fell far short of the Street's expectations at the time.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The company has several dozen RFID-reader pilot programs going on, with more coming up in the next few quarters. But clients large and small have hesitated to pull the trigger on their implementation plans quite yet. Impinj's technology is poised to improve distribution, inventory, and project-assets tracking in a big way, across industries ranging from retail goods to healthcare records.
However, the road to this big payoff has turned out to be incredibly bumpy. Share prices have ranged from $20 to $60 over the last 52 weeks, and November's drop has left Impinj investors stranded near the bottom end of that range.
The company still looks like a strong long-term play, especially from these rock-bottom starting prices. Just be prepared to lose some sleep over Impinj's crazy stock charts along the way.
