Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), Vipshop Holdings Ltd – ADR (NYSE:VIPS), and Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) were among the most prominent stocks that suffered big losses in yesterday’s trading session. Weight Watchers International, Inc. witnessed the biggest drop, losing 12.71% yesterday to close at $4.09. Shares of Yelp were down 9.99%, whereas Vipshop endured an 8.03% decline in its share price.
Let’s start with the day’s biggest loser, Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW). While the firm is known for promoting a loss of girth, the loss of weight in its shares isn’t likely what it had in mind. There was no apparent reason for the drop yesterday, which pushed shares close to their 52-week low of $4.05. The weight management service has lost a startling 83.87% of its share value year-to-date. The successful IPO of Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT), which has more than doubled in value, is likely further straining the perception of Weight Watchers, which is increasingly being seen as an archaic weight loss method that is shedding customers to the new era of fitness bands and radical surgery. Weight Watchers International, Inc. (NYSE:WTW) reported dismal first quarter results, with a per share loss of $0.10 against prior year earnings per share of $0.38. Its revenue declined 21.3% to $322.1 million in comparison to the prior year quarter. The weight management service also continued to shed smart money shareholders, with those we track having net investments of $28.73 million from 18 investors at the end of the first quarter, against previous quarter total investments of $195.94 million made by 22 hedge fund investors. Philip Rosenstrach of Pomelo Capital was the largest shareholder of the company with 900,000 shares valued at $6.29 million.
Next is Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), the online review business, which had a bad day after a report revealed that the company is no longer looking to sell itself. The co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yelp, Jeremy Stoppelman, is said to have turned away from looking for a sale. The report further states that there were “several” potential customers for the company, whose shares have declined 29.57% year-to-date, although analysts were skeptical about the value Yelp would provide to any company. Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) receives an average of 142 million unique views per month, representing a growth of 8% from a year ago. The selloff news helped the company land more investors among the hedge funds we track at Insider Monkey, with 29 hedge fund managers investing $490.87 million at the end of the first quarter against previous quarter investments of $432.45 million from 28 investors. Eashwar Krishnan’s Tybourne Capital Management is among the largest stockholders of Yelp, with ownership of 3.58 million shares valued at $169.57 million.
Vipshop Holdings Ltd – ADR (NYSE:VIPS) is another company to have declined significantly in today’s trading session after the commencement of a class action lawsuit against the company in New York. According to the plaintiffs, shareholders who purchased the company’s shares between February 17, 2015 and March 18, 2015, will be eligible. Vipshop Holdings released misleading and inaccurate statements related to its business, operational, and compliance policies according to the lawsuit. It includes overstating sales, cash flows, profits and asset accounts, along with GAAP violations in its financial statements. If this class action lawsuit stands true and Vipshop Holdings Ltd – ADR (NYSE:VIPS) is found guilty, it could mean large penalties and a further drop in its share price. The shares of Vipshop have grown 4.18% year-to-date and smart money holds a positive outlook of the company. 48 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey made aggregate investments of $3.22 billion in the company at the end of the first quarter, against previous quarter holdings of $2.16 billion from 47 hedge fund managers. While the increase in capital is significant, shares of Vipshop were up by more than 50% during the first quarter, which accounts for the gains.
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