What happened
Shares of C3.ai (AI -0.72%) slumped again on Tuesday, ending the daily trading session down 4.7%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index fell 1.4% and the even more-tech heavy Nasdaq Composite index closed out the daily session down 2%.
While there doesn't appear to have been any business-specific news pushing C3.ai's stock lower today, it's not surprising to see the artificial-intelligence (AI) specialist's share price fall in conjunction with momentum for the broader market. Growth-dependent tech stocks saw an explosive rally last week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a smaller interest rate hike this month, but market sentiment has flipped again early this week -- and renewed expectations for continued macroeconomic pressures have kicked off fresh rounds of bearish trading.
So what
The Fed has delivered four consecutive 75-basis-point rate hikes, with the last one arriving at the beginning of November, and the rapid increases have been crushing valuations for growth stocks. Analysts broadly expect the Fed to deliver a 50-basis-point increase when the central banking authority has its next meeting on Dec. 14, but concerns that the central banking authority will continue to deliver substantial rate hikes in order to combat inflation and trigger a prolonged recession have investors feeling skittish. The market's most recent bearish turn has now erased the gains that C3.ai stock posted on the heels of Powell's seemingly bullish comments last week.
Now what
C3.ai is scheduled to report results for the second quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31, after the market closes on Dec. 7. With its last update, management guided for a non-GAAP (adjusted) operating loss of $15 million to $20 million on revenue of $60 million to $62 million in Q2. The AI specialist also laid out expectations for an adjusted operating loss of $90 million to $98 million on sales of $255 million to $270 million for the full-year period.
C3.ai stock has now fallen roughly 62% across 2022's trading. The company has a market capitalization of $1.3 billion and is valued at approximately 5 times the average analyst estimate for yearly revenue.
