What happened
Shares of financial technology company Square (SQ 1.88%) fell as much as 5.7% in trading on Wednesday as growth stocks took a hit across the market. At 1 p.m. EDT, shares were still down 3.5% for the day.
So what
There isn't any big, market-moving news from Square today, but the stock is getting caught up in a sell-off of growth stocks. Shares of Square generally exaggerate the market's moves. With the S&P 500 down 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.4%, it's no surprise that Square's stock is down even more than that.
Image source: Square.
Investors should also view the move within the broader perspective. Shares are up 89.5% over the past year. They jumped just yesterday on an up day on the market and news that Square is opening payment-processing services to merchants in France.
Now what
Today's move is an example of why investors should look at stocks through a long-term lens. Square's business is growing, and the company is expanding services into Europe while simultaneously disrupting banking services in the U.S. It's these expansions of the business that will help drive the stock higher.
Volatility is the price investors pay to find great growth stocks, and Square falls in that category. Today, volatility is working against investors, but the stock is beating the market by a wide margin long term. So holding on days like this is the right move.
