What happened
Shares of Box, Inc. (BOX -1.10%) tumbled 24.7% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as investors responded to a broader sell-off within the market. Unfortunately for Box investors, the company's shares fell harder than some of its tech sector peers.
So what
Many stocks saw their share prices decline in October as investors were starting to worry about a trade war between the U.S. and China as well as fears that rising interest rates may hurt the economy. Unfortunately, tech stocks took the brunt of the share-price losses last month.
The chart below shows the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector index drop in October, along with Box's share price decline throughout the month.
Image source: YCharts.
Box's steep decline in October wiped away all of the gains the company's shares had made since March. However, investors should keep in mind that the decrease wasn't due to any fundamental change in Box's business. For long-term investors, this means any previous investing thesis should largely remain unchanged. Before last month's drop, Box's shares were up about 15% since the beginning of the year.
Now what
Shares of Box have started moving back up this month, although modestly, and they have gained about 3% so far. Investors can likely expect additional share price swings later this month as Box will report its third-quarter fiscal 2019 results on Nov. 28.
The company's management forecasts revenue to be in the range of $154 million to $155 million for the quarter, and for its non-GAAP loss per share to be between $0.08 and $0.07.
With Box's shares falling along with other technology stocks last month, investors should see the latest drop as part of a broader market sell-off rather than a problem with Box's underlying business.
