Blue Apron Falls Under $1 as Sell-Off Shows No Signs of Stopping

(Bloomberg) -- Blue Apron Holdings Inc. extended its lengthy decline on Tuesday, with shares dropping below the psychologically important $1 level.

The stock dropped about 9 percent to 92 cents, the latest in a series of record lows for the at-home meal kit company. The stock is down by more than 75 percent since mid-July, and it has shed half its value since the end of August.

Blue Apron has struggled since going public in June 2017, losing 90 percent of its value since then, but its problems pre-date the IPO, the price of which had to be cut by about a third as the company faced the competitive threat of Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods. The company has also faced problems with fulfillment center delays.

In November, the company reported third-quarter revenue that missed expectations. Blue Apron also said it would cut about 4 percent of its work force, a move the company suggested would lead to profitability in 2019. Analysts weren’t convinced, however, and the results were followed by a number of downgrades, including from Canaccord, Guggenheim and Morgan Stanley, which wrote that “declining revenue on an already subscale business makes it even harder for us to envision a pathway to positive profits.”

Currently, 13 analysts rate Blue Apron as a hold, while one firm -- Gabelli & Co -- rates it a buy. No firms rate it a sell, according to Bloomberg data. The average price target is $1.59.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Vlastelica in New York at rvlastelica1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Will Daley

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