What Happened?
Shares of electrical safety company Atkore (NYSE: ATKR) fell 27.1% in the afternoon session after the company reported a significant drop in quarterly profit and announced the planned retirement of its CEO, Bill Waltz. Atkore disclosed that its net sales fell 10.6% compared to the same period last year, landing at $735 million. The company attributed this decline primarily to lower average selling prices for its products. Profitability took a substantial hit, as net income plummeted by over 65% to $43.0 million. This resulted in an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.25, which fell short of analyst forecasts. The news of the CEO's departure added to investor concerns, creating uncertainty about the company's future leadership.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Atkore? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Atkore’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Atkore and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 6 months ago when the stock dropped 19.3% on the news that the company reported weak fourth quarter results. Its full-year EBITDA guidance missed significantly, and its revenue fell short of Wall Street's estimates as both prices and volumes weakened. On the other hand, it was encouraging to see Atkore beat analysts' EPS expectations this quarter. Overall, this was a weaker quarter.
Atkore is down 30.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $56.81 per share, it is trading 52% below its 52-week high of $118.46 from August 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Atkore’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,967.
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