What happened
Shares of the medical device company Nevro (NVRO -2.19%) were down by an unsightly 18.9% on exceptionally heavy volume at 10:57 a.m. ET Thursday. The big loss came after the company announced that Kevin Thornal will take the reins as CEO and president following the upcoming retirement of current CEO/president D. Keith Grossman on April 24, 2023.
In addition, Nevro announced preliminary, unaudited revenue for the first quarter of 2023 in the same press release. The company expects to book worldwide revenue of approximately $96.3 million in the first quarter of 2023, which is modestly higher than Wall Street's high-end estimate ($96 million) for the three-month period. Nevro is slated to release its full first-quarter results on April 26, 2023.
So what
Although Nevro has been booking double-digit revenue gains of late, the company is still on track to be cash-flow-negative in 2023. Unfortunately, this moody market has shown no patience for unprofitable companies. The bottom line is that rising interest rates and stubborn levels of inflation have pushed investors into safe haven assets like dividend stocks over the past year and a half. Consequently, promising growth companies like Nevro have steadily shed value over this period.
Now what
Is Nevro a buy on this latest weakness? That's a tough call. The company's shares have been steadily losing value since hitting an all-time high in 2021. That doesn't mean that Nevro's shares can't mount a comeback, but the trend is unfavorable at this point. At a minimum, investors buying on this weakness should do so with a long-term mindset.
