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Why Shares of Autodesk Dropped 11% in December

By Travis Hoium – Updated Apr 17, 2019 at 11:58PM

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The market's drop didn't help Autodesk's shares last month.

Check out the latest Autodesk earnings call transcript.

What happened 

Shares of software company Autodesk (ADSK 0.90%) fell 11% in December, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as the market dropped and the company went on another buying spree. Shares have gained back 7.3% in so far in 2019, so it's a volatile time for Autodesk on the market. 

So what 

In December, Autodesk closed the $875 million acquisition of PlanGrid, a construction productivity software company, and announced the $275 million acquisition of BuildingConnected, which makes bid management software. The two deals improve the suite of software Autodesk offers to construction firms, which are downstream of the computer-aided design software that's Autodesk's bread and butter. 

Worker on CAD software.

Image source: Getty Images.

It didn't help that the market declined nearly 10% in December, pulling tech stocks with it. There's no question the market's decline was a big factor in pulling shares of Autodesk lower. 

Now what 

As bad as December was on the market, I think Autodesk actually made positive strategic moves by adding PlanGrid and BuildingConnected. They help expand the company's ecosystem of software products, which are incredibly powerful in the building and construction market. In the long term, this will likely be a blip on the radar as Autodesk's product lineup continues to grow in construction. 

Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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