What happened
The share price of online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK +6.52%) dropped 17% earlier today, before closing down just over 12%. And the reason may have nothing directly to do with the retail sector.
So what
Overstock.com is one of the companies that has benefited from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Americans who have been stuck at home have been spending money to spruce up and improve their living spaces. Like Home Depot (HD 0.03%), Lowe's (LOW 0.78%), and Target (TGT +1.37%), Overstock.com has seen sales jump during the stay-at-home phase of the pandemic.
Image source: Getty Images.
In its second-quarter report for the period ending June 30, the company reported sales more than double those of the prior-year period. But today's news that Abbott Laboratories (ABT 0.10%) received emergency use authorization for its rapid COVID-19 test has investors taking profits and buying the "reopen" stocks like airlines and cruise operators instead.
Now what
Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson commented after the second-quarter earnings release, "Importantly, our customers are buying our core products -- home furnishings -- from the safety of their homes as part of the country's new normal."
But investors have already benefited from that surge in business. Even with today's drop, shares are up more than 1,200% in 2020. That's the kind of gain that has some investors wanting to take profits when there is any news of a potential shift in consumer behavior.
