Blue Apron shares fell another 12% today to $7.14, down 29% from the $10 it went public at late last month. That's less than the price of a a meal serving, which the company advertises starting at $8.99.
While that's not great, according to one research firm it should be just...$2.
Northshore Research put a a target price on the company at $2, according to Bloomberg News, because of "severe cost challenges as well as a competitive set that is broadening and intensifying."
That's also the only analyst report that's been published about the company, amplifying its impact on the stock price when it was released today. (It's worth noting that the banks that help take a firm public are restricted in when they can start publishing research.)
As the company was going through its IPO process, investors blanched at the company's high spending on marketing compared to revenue. Amazon's deal to buy Whole Foods, which would insert a massively well-funded and capable technology and logistics company into the food industry, also caused investor consternation.
All of which means Blue Apron's IPO and subsequent decline has been a massive comedown for a fast-growing company that was valued at around $2 billion by private investors two years ago. While the company was preparing to go public, its bankers' estimates of where its shares would be priced fell from the $15 to $17 range, to $10. Since it started trading, the price only went down from there.
Newly traded shares typically rise on their first day of trading as the mass public gets its first opportunity to buy the stock, in what's known as its "pop." Blue Apron, on the other hand, briefly rose to $11 on its first day of trading and then ended the day right where it started at $10.