What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after markets pulled back with the decline concentrated in the tech space as investors engaged in profit-taking following a robust week that saw the S&P 500 hit a new record.
Adding to the pressure, new inflation data, specifically the Core PCE, showed an acceleration in July, signaling that rising prices remain a risk despite being in line with expectations. This confluence of factors, including market highs heading into a historically weak September, led to a pullback, with the Nasdaq Composite shedding 1.15%. While the Federal Reserve has hinted at potential rate cuts, the focus on inflation and the jobs market continues to influence investor sentiment.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Data & Business Process Services company Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) fell 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Planet Labs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Aerospace company Astronics (NASDAQ: ATRO) fell 4.1%. Is now the time to buy Astronics? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Custom Parts Manufacturing company 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) fell 5.2%. Is now the time to buy 3D Systems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Health Insurance Providers company Oscar Health (NYSE: OSCR) fell 3.9%. Is now the time to buy Oscar Health? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Finance and Accounting Software company BILL (NYSE: BILL) fell 5.2%. Is now the time to buy BILL? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On BILL (BILL)
BILL’s shares are very volatile and have had 26 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 12.8% on the news that the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, surpassing Wall Street's revenue and profit estimates.
The financial automation platform posted quarterly revenue of $383.3 million, an 11.5% increase year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.53, which was 30.4% above expectations. The strong performance in the quarter appeared to overshadow a mixed outlook. BILL's revenue guidance for the upcoming third quarter came in slightly below analysts' projections, and its adjusted EPS forecast for the full year also missed consensus estimates. Despite the softer guidance, investors focused on the current quarter's significant beats.
BILL is down 44.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $46.46 per share, it is trading 52.3% below its 52-week high of $97.41 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of BILL’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $469.39.
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