Asana stock falls 15% after loss more than doubles, forecast calls for more red ink

Analysts on average expected a loss of 28 cents a share on sales of $105.2 million, according to FactSet. Shares dropped more than 7% in after-hours trading following the release of the results, after closing with a 9.6% gain at $48.75 in the regular session.

Asana’s forecast also exceeded analysts’ expectations for losses as well as revenue growth. Executives expect to lose 35 cents to 36 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter on revenue of $114.5 million to $115.5 million, while analysts on average were modeling a loss of 27 cents a share on sales of $110.9 million.

For more: Five things to know about Asana

For the full year, Asana executives guided for revenue of $527 million to $531 million, growth of up to 40%. Analysts on average had expected $506.3 million in annual sales this year, according to FactSet.

In a statement, Moskovitz focused on the revenue growth and said the company was investing for the future.

“Our fiscal-year revenue growth accelerated versus the previous year, led by strength in the enterprise and strong demand across the customer base,” he said, later adding, “We are cementing our leadership position by increasing investments further to meet this large and growing enterprise demand.”

Asana went public in 2020 through a direct listing, and shares have been warmly welcomed, rising 48.7% in the past year as the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+2.57%
gained 7.6%. Like many highly valued tech stocks, this year has been tougher: The stock is down 34.5% so far in 2022.