Asana Stock Spikes on Forecast Boost and Share Sale to CEO

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Shares of

Asana

rose sharply Thursday after the work-management platform raised its revenue forecast for the fiscal year.

Asana

(ticker: ASAN) also received a lift from the announcement that Chief Executive Dustin Moskovitz purchased $350 million of shares in a private placement.

Asana was rising 17.7% to $22.41.

The software company said it expects fiscal-year revenue of $544 million to $547 million, up from its previous forecast range of $536 million to $540 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had been calling for fiscal-year revenue of $535.5 million.

For the fiscal second quarter, Asana reported an adjusted loss of 34 cents a share vs. a loss of 23 cents a year earlier. Analysts expected a loss of 39 cents. Revenue in the period rose to $134.9 million from $89.5 million a year earlier and higher than Wall Street forecasts of $127.8 million.

“I am investing further in Asana because I strongly believe the market opportunity is enormous and that the Work Graph is the best possible solution for helping enterprises achieve their most important goals,” Moskovitz said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. Moskovitz is buying about 19.3 million shares of Asana.

“The market is ready and our customers are validating our strategy every day. With the additional $350 million in capital announced today, we believe we are fully-funded to execute on our current strategies and well-positioned to reach free cash flow positive before the end of calendar 2024,” the CEO added.

Rishi Jaluria, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said Asana’s “mixed” quarter was “overshadowed by a $350M private placement by CEO Dustin Moskovitz.” The analyst said Asana’s goal to be free cash flow by 2023, was “ambitious” and “one that is difficult to envision without material disruption and deceleration.”

Jaluria maintained his Underperform rating on Asana shares but raised his price target to $15 from $13.

The analyst said the private placement takes “immediate concerns on cash burn/solvency off the table for now,” but added that RBC finds the “timing of the purchase and announcement somewhat curious.”

Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]