The stock market went through some turbulence on Thursday, with investors getting whipsawed by a variety of developments. The usual overarching issues of trade and global economic conditions gave conflicting signals to market participants, and after a strong 2019 thus far, many traders seem content to tread water during the last month of the year. However, some companies struggled with news that sent their share prices lower. At Home Group (HOME), Elastic (ESTC 4.25%), and Sage Therapeutics (SAGE 0.47%) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
At Home sees a slump
Shares of At Home Group plunged 36% after the home furnishings retailer posted disappointing results in its third-quarter financial report. At Home saw its revenue rise 19% compared to the year-earlier period, but all of those gains came from the 40 new stores that it's opened over the past year. Comparable-store sales were down 2%, and the company was only able to break even on an adjusted basis. With pressure from tariffs, At Home was more pessimistic about how it will perform over the holiday quarter, and that has shareholders worried about the home retailer's longer-term prospects as well.
Image source: At Home Group.
Elastic breaks
Search company Elastic saw its stock fall 18% following the release of its fiscal Q2 financial results. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider's quarter looked strong, with overall revenue rising 59% year over year on a 106% jump in subscription-based revenue. Yet Elastic continues to lose money, and investors weren't entirely comfortable with the company's projections for third-quarter and full-year fiscal 2020 sales and net losses. Across the market, SaaS stocks have been under pressure as shareholders get less patient with companies that don't have a clear path to profitability in a relatively short time frame.
Sage suffers a huge setback
Finally, shares of Sage Therapeutics plummeted nearly 60%. The biopharmaceutical company reported that its phase 3 trial of its SAGE-217 treatment for major depressive disorder failed to meet its primary endpoint, as it didn't produce a statistically significant reduction in a recognized rating scale for depression compared to a placebo. Sage tried to reassure shareholders that the trial still produced some supportive data. However, investors don't seem convinced about the future path for SAGE-217, and right now, that's a huge part of Sage's overall value proposition going forward.
