What happened

Shares of Alteryx (AYX) popped last month after the provider of data analytics software issued a strong preliminary third-quarter earnings report early on. Those gains faded as the month progressed, but the stock still finished October up 10%, according to data from S&P Global Intelligence.

As you can see from the chart below, the stock surged in the first week of the month but faded toward the end on a broader sell-off in tech stocks and fears of mounting coronavirus cases.

AYX Chart

AYX data by YCharts

So what

In an update on Oct. 5, Alteryx first announced that founder Dean Stoecker was stepping aside as CEO in favor of Mark Anderson, a former president of Palo Alto Networks and a member of Alteryx's board of directors for the last two years.

A businessperson studies a number of charts at a desk.

Image source: Getty Images.

While that was big news in and of itself, the stock jumped 28% mainly because the company reported much better preliminary results for the third quarter than expected. The company said revenue would increase 22% to 24% -- a significant improvement over its previous forecast of just 7% to 11%. Alteryx shares plunged when the company gave that lower guidance in its second-quarter earnings report in August. Thanks to the update, the stock has recouped much of those losses.

The stock slipped the following week as CTFN reported that the company sought a sale during the summer but didn't receive an offer at the desired price. The report also said that the promotion of Anderson made a sale less likely. Over the last few days of the month, the stock slipped on a broader sell-off over rising COVID-19 cases. Investors also seemed to believe that tech stocks were overvalued. The Nasdaq slipped 3 points on the last day of October, even as several FAANG stocks posted strong quarterly results.

Now what

Alteryx is due to report earnings after hours on Nov. 5, but with the revenue numbers out of the way, much of the focus will be on Anderson's leadership and direction for the company as he takes his first earnings call. In addition, investors will keep a close eye on guidance to see if the rebound from the second quarter to the third quarter will continue into the fourth. Expect another round of volatility from the stock after the report comes out.