What happened
Shares of Appian (APPN +1.75%) declined 10.2% on Wednesday despite a lack of company-specific news. Though the broader markets fell modestly -- including a 0.3% drop in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index -- as investors digested trade-war concerns and disappointing retail sales data, there were no new press releases, analyst notes, SEC filings, or industry reports that might otherwise cause such a drop for Appian specifically.
So what
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That said, Appian shareholders should be accustomed to the stock's outsize volatility by now. It skyrocketed more than 50% in August, after the company announced strong second-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance. But shares of the low-code software development platform company followed with a 20% plunge last month without substantial news -- save perhaps the mere fact it had climbed so much the previous month.
Now what
It's worth noting that Appian shares are still up more than 70% year to date even after accounting for today's drop. So for now, I think investors would do well to ignore these kinds of no-news moves -- both positive and negative -- and focus instead on the health and momentum of Appian's underlying business. Over the long term, its share price should eventually respond accordingly.
