What happened

Axon Enterprise (AXON 0.28%). AeroVironment (AVAV -0.20%). iRobot (IRBT -0.73%).

Three days ago, coronavirus crashed the stock market and took these three small, fast-growing tech stocks down with it. Today, it's happening all over again.

Last night, President Trump went on television to announce a series of measures designed to halt the spread of coronavirus in the United States and mitigate its effects on the economy. Among them:

  • A 30-day ban on most "immigrants and nonimmigrants" traveling from the 14 nations comprising the Schengen Area of Europe to the United States.
  • The voluntary suspension of "co-payments for coronavirus treatments" by America's health insurance companies.
  • "$8.3 billion funding bill to help CDC and other government agencies fight the virus and support vaccines, treatments and distribution of medical supplies."
  • Unspecified but "unprecedented ... emergency action ... to provide financial relief" to "working Americans [who] are impacted by the virus."
  • $50 billion in low-interest loans to "small businesses."
  • And a call for Congress to pass a law providing "immediate payroll tax relief."
An artist's depiction of a viral infection

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

While certainly intended to allay concerns, the announcement appears to have had the opposite effect today, convincing the market that the situation must be grave indeed to require so many measures to address it -- and sparking another stock market crash.

After falling more than 10% in early trading, as of 10:40 a.m. EDT, Axon stock still remains down 5.4%, AeroVironment 6.4%, and iRobot 6.6%.

Now what

Will the president's pronouncement eventually have the intended effect? Will the stock market recover? Only time will tell.

For now, though, one thing is certain: Some of the best tech stocks on the market are going on sale. It's time to sharpen our pencils, start working our valuations, and hopefully find ourselves a few hidden gems amid the rubble.