Source: Benefitfocus
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's happening: Two days after presenting at a Wall Street industry conference, shares of the cloud-based healthcare benefits company Benefitfocus (BNFT +0.00%) soared higher by as much as 10% on news that it had inked a deal to provide its services to a U.S. construction unit of the Mexico based Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ICA +0.00%).
Why it's happening: Benefitfocus climbed sharply last month after reporting that insurance giant Marsh & McLennon Cos (MMC 0.05%) Mercer unit was acquiring a 9.9% stake in the company at a price of $26.50.
That deal gives Benefitfocus the financial flexibility to expand its benefits products and services, as well as nets the company a highly respected and deep-pocketed partner. Both of those advantages could help Benefitfocus successfully close larger and more complex deals, making shares more attractive to investors.
Source: Benefitfocus
During Benefitfocus' March 3rd presentation at the Raymond James Conference, the company outlined a strategy that includes increasingly winning large accounts. During 2014, the number of large employers that were using the company's services grew to 553, up 59% from when Benefitfocus went public in 2013.
Although the financial terms of the agreement with the Facchina Construction unit of Empresas ICA, S.A.B. de C.V. weren't released, Benefitfocus will provide a multilingual automated software system to the company that can be used to track benefits, as well as act as a multilingual extension of the unit's HR team that responds to employee benefits questions.
Now what: Investors are likely relieved by the recent slate of positive news coming out of the company. After peaking at more than $75 following its IPO, shares in Benefitfocus had dropped to less than $20 earlier this year. That means that there's still a lot of work left to be done to get back to its prior highs. This news is encouraging; however, investors might not want to get too excited about Benefitfocus' growth, which includes a 31% lift in sales last year, because the company remains unprofitable. Despite gross margins of 36%, Benefitfocus' adjusted EBITDA margin was a negative 32% in 2014. That has Wall Street analysts projecting that the company will lose $2.13 per share this year and $1.66 next year. As a result, until the company can prove that it can turn a profit, I'm going to stay on the sidelines.
