What happened
It's another down day for shares of Blue Apron (APRN), a well-known meal delivery service, which are trending nearly 6% lower as of 3:20 p.m. EDT after investors and Wall Street remain pessimistic about the company's ability to move its top line higher.
So what
It's been a rough go for Blue Apron after its Initial Public Offering (IPO), and shares have shed over 81% of their value since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange late June 2017. The fourth quarter didn't bring good news either with net revenue declining 13% due to a decrease in customers and orders. Even more recently, one of Blue Apron's top competitors, HelloFresh, purchased Green Chef, which gives it control of roughly 36% of the market as of February 2018 and bumps Blue Apron down to the second largest market share at 35%. For context, Blue Apron's market share a year earlier checked in at 48%.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
Blue Apron's share price decline today wasn't due to any specific news, rather it's simply the result of a small cap stock fluctuating -- Blue Apron's market capitalization is a meager $360 million. One thing for investors to consider is that Blue Apron's woes are seemingly self-inflicted, and thus fixable. For instance, HelloFresh has proven it can grow its top line with its revenue up 90% in 2017, compared to the prior year, and overall U.S. meal-kit sales increased 40.7% last year, according to Earnest Research. Blue Apron has a lot of work to do convincing investors it can reignite its top-line growth, or there will be many more days where it stock price trends lower.
