Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of TrueCar (TRUE -3.26%) jumped more than 20% Friday ahead of the online car-buying specialist's "quiet period" expiration.
So what: Shares of TrueCar have risen significantly since it priced its IPO at $9.00 per share on May 16. But thanks to a mandatory 25-day quiet period imposed by the SEC, TrueCar's underwriters aren't allowed to release their respective research reports on the company just yet. That period expires on Tuesday, June 10, so investors today are likely betting that analysts will chime in with good things to say then.
Now what: Shares don't look particularly cheap trading around 5.6 times trailing 12-month sales, but TrueCar's S-1 filing shows the yet-to-be-profitable company is growing quickly. Last year, TrueCar achieved a net loss of roughly $25 million, as sales grew 68%, to $134 million. And sales growth accelerated in its most recent quarter to 75% year over year, to $43.9 million, resulting in a net loss of $9.9 million, or $0.17 per share.
As it stands, if TrueCar can convince investors that its growth is both sustainable and will allow it to ultimately achieve long-term profitability, I see no reason the stock can't continue rising from here.
