In This Article:
What Happened?
Shares of work management software maker Asana (NYSE: ASAN) jumped 9% in the morning session as the major indices soared (Nasdaq +1.9%, S&P 500 +1.6%) after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that core CPI (Consumer Price Index - a measure of inflation which strips out volatile food and energy prices) for December 2024 came in better than expected, rising 3.2% year over year, compared to the consensus estimate for a 3.3% increase. This means that PPI and CPI both came in slightly below expectations. It is important because the results take additional rate hikes off the table, which some investors and market participants were beginning to whisper about.
As a reminder, the driver of a stock's value is the sum of its future cash flows discounted back to today. The result of lower interest rates, all else equal, is higher stock valuations. This is especially true for higher-growth stocks, such as those in the technology sector, where the current value depends more on cash flows many years out in the future.
In addition, the earnings season is off to a strong start: Banking giants like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs posted solid quarterly results, further lifting investor sentiment. The true test will come in the coming month or so as the bulk of large publicly-traded companies report their result.
The shares closed the day at $19.68, up 5.1% from previous close.
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What The Market Is Telling Us
Asana’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 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 9 days ago when the stock gained 9.2% on the news that Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin upgraded the stock's rating from Neutral to Overweight (Buy) and raised the price target from $19 to $27. The upgrade was based on "the company's stabilization, cost management, and promising AI innovations."
Asana is down 1% since the beginning of the year, and at $19.65 per share, it is trading 28.6% below its 52-week high of $27.52 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Asana’s shares at the IPO in September 2020 would now be looking at an investment worth $682.29.
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