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The market has started to look iffy lately and today we’re seeing another wave of selling. The pressure is on the bulls to step up and turn things around. Or, at least stop the bleeding. At the moment there are very few bright spots, but we’re fortunate to have one of them in our portfolio.

Tyler updates us on one more stock that reported earnings recently.

Karyopharm (KPTI) pre-announced Q4 2020 results yesterday morning and I watched the stock, which was weak (closed down 8%) throughout the day as I pondered the results. I’ll get to my thoughts in a minute. First, the numbers.

Four of our portfolio stocks report earnings.

Porch (PRCH) reported its first quarter as a public company this week. The numbers are a little messy due to divestments and acquisitions over the last year, but the bottom line is that the quarter was good and the company is well-positioned for the year ahead. Making all the necessary adjustments, revenue in Q4 was up 34% to $19.5 million and up 28% to $73.2 million for the full year 2020.

This portfolio stock reported yesterday that Q2 revenue grew by 35% to $65.4 million (beating by $2.4 million) while adjusted EPS of $0.06 beat by $0.27.

Accolade revealed preliminary Q4 and full-year 2020 results after the bell yesterday and announced a private offering of $250 million convertible notes, with a $37.5 million option (pricing to be determined). The reasons for the offering are the usual – working capital, acquisitions, strategic investments and general corporate purposes.

Porch Group (PRCH) has been very weak recently and moves to hold today. This move hasn’t been unique to PRCH, in fact most SPAC IPOs have been soft for a while now. However, we saw a sizeable decline on Friday and follow-through softness today.

Cardlytics (CDLX) reported Q4 2020 numbers this morning that surpassed revenue expectations by roughly 10% and missed modestly on earnings. Revenue was down 3.2% to $67.1 million (beating by $6.2 million) while adjusted EPS of -$0.05 missed by $0.02. Management gave 2021 guidance that called for revenue of $250 million to $275 million, which straddles consensus expectations of $260 million (up 40%).

Cardlytics (CDLX) reported last night that Q1 revenue grew by 17% to $53.2 million (beating by $2 million) and that adjusted EPS came in at -$0.34, a drop from -$0.26 in the year ago quarter (and $0.03 shy of expectations). Overall, the quarter showed continued improvement in the business as revenue, Q1 billings ($76.3 million) and adjusted contribution ($24.3 million) were all either at or slightly ahead of consensus estimates.

Cerence (CRNC) reported this morning that Q1 revenue was up 22.6% to $95 million (beating by $7.1 million) while adjusted EPS of $0.59 was up 103% (beating by $0.08). There are a lot of initiatives at Cerence and management had a lot to say, but I’ll just mention a few things that jumped out at me.

The message this week is to stay invested but don’t go crazy on the buy side and don’t get scared on the sell side. Just be measured and try not to do anything that’s uncharacteristic of what you would do in a “normal” market.

Yesterday I mentioned that I would follow up today with notes from the Thunderbird Entertainment (TBRD.CA, THBRF) earnings call. Here are a few tidbits from that call.

Avalara (AVLR) reported results after the close yesterday that handily beat expectations on virtually all metrics. Q4 revenue was up 35% to $144.8 million (beating by $11.4 million) while adjusted EPS of $0.09 beat by $0.15. Billings of $167 million were up 38%. Adjusted gross margin increased from 71% to 74% and free cash flow increased from $14.2 million to $28.6 million.

Sprout Social (SPT) reported Q3 results yesterday that beat expectations. Revenue was up 46% to $49.1 million versus expected growth of 42%.

The market is off to a superb start to 2020 with many growth sectors finding their groove and ripping higher. The S&P 600 Small Cap Index continues to trade above the all-important (my opinion) 1,000 level and we’re seeing participation from a wider breadth of sectors than in the past.

ONTF, CRNC and EVBG Report.

The quarter was just what we wanted see. Revenue grew by 87.9% to $29.5 million, slightly ahead of consensus for $29.1 million (which was based on S-1 filling guidance). Operating margin was roughly a percentage point above expectations (-6.8%). Full-year 2021 guidance of $103.5 - $104.3 million is ahead of consensus of $100 million and implies growth of 51% to 52% versus the 46% rate embedded in prior consensus. Given the trends, wise management team and status as a new IPO we should view this guidance as conservative.

The only news anybody seems to care about is the coronavirus. While that’s clearly a concern and not something to take lightly, I don’t think it changes the bigger picture trend that stocks are the place to be over the coming years.

Personalis (PSNL) released preliminary Q4 results on January 11 and the official release after the close yesterday offered no surprises. Personalis (PSNL) Moves To SELL