What happened 

Shares of Alteryx (AYX) tumbled 29.4% in the first half of this year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the data analytics company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results early in the year and its newly hired chief revenue officer rapidly left his post. 

Investors still haven't regained their confidence in Alteryx, and they've pushed the company's share price down an additional 8.8% since the beginning of July.  

So what

Alteryx's fourth-quarter 2020 results actually beat Wall Street's consensus estimates, but investors were likely disappointed with the company's guidance. Management estimated that sales would decrease up to 4.4% for the first quarter and that full-year 2021 revenue would increase by just 13%.

A red and green line graph on a black background.

Image source: Getty Images.

Shares continued to fall in February after Alteryx's chief revenue officer resigned abruptly following an inappropriate post on Twitter, after just being hired for the position a month before.  

The combination of disappointing guidance and management turmoil caused Alteryx's share price to fall 24% in February alone.  

The company's stock fell another 13% in March, on seemingly no company-specific news. Some investors might have sold their shares as investors fled tech stocks at the beginning of the year, and focused their attention instead on other companies that they think will grow as the U.S. economy opens up. 

Now what 

Alteryx appears to be at a crossroads right now as the company tries to figure out how to ramp up revenue growth and tap into a promising cloud data-analytics market. But investors might want to be cautious about this tech stock if the company can't find its footing soon and reclaim some of the growth it enjoyed in the recent past.