What happened
Desktop Metal (DM -3.80%) was hardly the most solid stock on the market Wednesday. The company's share price fell by over 1% on the day, a worse showing than the slight decline of the S&P 500 index. A C-suite departure wasn't sitting well with investors.
So what
Just after market hours on Tuesday, Desktop Metal -- a maker of 3D printers -- announced that CFO James Haley would be stepping down from his position. He is going to "pursue other interests." The company did not get more specific and did not detail the reasons for his move.
It seems that the departure isn't acrimonious. Desktop Metal added that Haley will stay in the post until at least the end of this year or until a replacement CFO is appointed, whichever comes first. Following this, he will serve as an advisor to the company for an unspecified time thereafter.
In Desktop Metal's press release announcing his departure, Haley was quoted describing the company's "tremendous portfolio, momentum of the business, and strong financial position."
Now what
Some might beg to differ on each of those points. Investors are still stung by Desktop Metal's most recently reported quarter; in May, it delivered first quarter results with a bottom-line loss that came in quite far below the average analyst estimate. Compounding that, it also revealed that it would be burdened either with a pile of debt and/or a higher share count with a planned $150 million convertible notes issue.
Investors are rarely happy with the departure of a non-controversial top manager at one of their companies. As many are already rather bearish on Desktop Metal, this isn't helping improve that sentiment at all.
