Impinj stock plunges as Seattle company cuts revenue guidance, says CFO leaving
By Rachel Leman
Originally published February 2, 2018 at 11:41 am Updated February 2, 2018 at 10:11 pm
Seattle Times
Impinj, located in the South Lake Union neighborhood, makes RFID tags that can be used to track inventory, seen here as the tiny black dot, lower right, near the UPM letters. (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)
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Impinj's stock tumbled after it announced preliminary revenue numbers.
Shares of Seattle technology company Impinj plunged more than 46 percent Friday after the company said its first-quarter revenue would be lower than expected and announced the departure of its chief financial officer.
The company sells small radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and readers that help retailers and health care companies track inventory. Last year, industry watchers speculated that Impinj’s technology was being used in Amazon’s Go cashierless convenience store. The companies never confirmed the news, and Amazon has since said it uses computer vision technology for the store, not RFID technology.
Impinj said Thursday that it now expects between $20 million and $22 million in revenue during its first quarter, lower than previously expected as sales haven’t grown as quickly as it thought. When announcing third-quarter financial results in November, Impinj said several large retailers had delayed purchases of Impinj products. The company’s stock sank 34 percent on the day it announced those disappointing results.
The company will report fourth-quarter results Feb. 15. It said Thursday it expects revenue to be between $29 million and $30 million, slightly higher than it had previously expected.
Impinj also announced that Evan Fein, its longtime chief financial officer, will step down at the end of March. Fein is leaving to “spend more time with family and pursue other opportunities,” he said in a company news release Thursday. Fein has been with the company in various roles since 2000.
Thursday’s news prompted RBC Capital to downgrade its expectations for Impinj’s share price from $40 to $17.
Impinj stock closed down $10.70, or 46.8 percent, at $12.16 Friday.
Impinj went public in July 2016, when it was priced at $14. The stock initially experienced steady growth on the market until last August, when it started to decline.
Rachel Lerman: rlerman@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @rachelerman. Rachel Lerman covers technology for The Seattle Times.
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