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In Bad Year for Tech Stocks, Three Boston Companies Dropped More than 99% (msn.com) 10

A Boston Globe tech reporter checked last year's performance for the region's tech companies: A list of the worst local performers includes some truly bottom-of-the-barrel returns. Cannabis tech company Agrify in Billerica suffered a 99.6 percent stock drop in 2022. Wireless Internet service Starry and diet-device maker Gelesis were close behind with losses of 99.5 and 99.3 percent, respectively. (All stock prices are as of Dec. 28.)

Agrify suffered a recent sales drop and growing losses while ending the year facing a customer lawsuit and possible hostile takeover. Starry was unable to raise the funds needed to continue building its network and put itself up for sale last month. And Gelesis fell far short of its sales forecast, bringing in about $30 million of revenue compared to a projection of $171 million presented when its merger with Capstar Special Purpose Acquisition Corp. was announced in 2021....

Companies like Starry and Gelesis that went public by merging with blank-check firms had a particularly tough year, as investors flipped from euphoria to panic on the so-called SPAC boom. The average 2022 return for 21 such stocks tracked by the Globe was a loss of 70 percent. Of tech companies that went public the traditional way, the average loss was 45 percent. Toast, which did a standard IPO at the same time Ginkgo Bioworks completed its SPAC deal, lost 51 percent for the year while Ginkgo plunged 80 percent.

In the wider market of tech stocks, the article notes that the S&P 500 index dropped 20%, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 34 percent, "and tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, and Meta shed hundreds of billions of dollars of market value."

"Of 60 local tech stocks tracked by the Globe, only two posted positive returns: robotics maker Symbotic in Wilmington and payments company WEX in Portland, Maine.... Perhaps in 2023, the winners column will be a little longer."
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In Bad Year for Tech Stocks, Three Boston Companies Dropped More than 99%

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  • Stuff that matters, if you think only the performance of companies from Boston matters.
    • It matters to some. I know a few tech workers that put off retirement plans because their IRA and investment portfolios took a hit last year and they're working on getting back to a retirement threshold before punching out.

      Even the most conservative investment plans took a hit last year so, yes, tech nerds are interested in some financial matters.

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      Story had good potential for Funny, but it's dying with 9 (now 10) comments.

      I don't think you deserve much blame, but it wasn't the strongest FP I've seen. You did vaguely remind me of a couple of Boston companies that mattered, but maybe it just proves your point that all the examples I could think of have gone away and perhaps the real lesson is that no one should base their tech company in Boston?

  • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Sunday January 01, 2023 @05:35PM (#63172836)
    Of all the things that don't need tech a weed we've been smoking for thousands of years is definitely one of them.

    So I googled it and they're just a bunch of chemists. I suppose there's nothing wrong with making more efficient means of extracting the part people want for edibles but then say that. Telling people you're a tech company means computers these days not chemistry. But Christ sakes at least put the word bio in front of it.

    As for the other two Starry is most likely just going to get undercut by starlink using money from Tesla similar to how Microsoft funds things with the office Monopoly and diet gadgets never get very far.

    So too kind of iffy companies and one company that never had a prayer in hell thanks to lacks antitrust law enforcement lost to their value. Not really a surprise.

    On the plus side Blackstone appears to be imploding and they have Frozen withdrawals from their investment fund, so maybe home prices will go back down to normal this year
  • by 140Mandak262Jamuna ( 970587 ) on Sunday January 01, 2023 @08:02PM (#63173074) Journal
    Near zero interest rate is a disaster for many good companies. Their competitors use the "free money" from these investors and race to the bottom. As the interest rate goes up some of them go under. Hope more of them do.
  • Inevitable (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Tablizer ( 95088 ) on Sunday January 01, 2023 @09:21PM (#63173172) Journal

    Most here knew the AI and crypto shit was mostly hype, and too many companies already had appalling PE ratios for quite a while. Something had give eventually. *SNAP*

  • Gelesis makes a hydrogel to treat obesity...something that mimics raw vegetables. I would hardly call that a "device." Obesity is a top killer in the developed world. It saddens me that they're in trouble and another obesity treatment may not make it to the wider market...that said, I don't really understand why I want a pill to mimic a vegetable...something I can grow or acquire for cheaply. It's "interesting"...but I don't see too much reason to be excited. If you can mimic gastric bypass with a pill
    • I found Plenity, the pills invented by Gelesis, to be very helpful in my effort to take off more than 100 pounds in weight. While Plenity by itself produces modest weight loss it served as an on ramp to make my adjustment to a medically supervised, very low calorie diet easier by keeping me full without adding any calories. Plenity is a great tool. My tech stack for weight loss included Plenity and the HMR Program. Iâ(TM)m not on Plenity anymore because my BMI is too low, but I continue on the HMR mai
    • Somervillain, there may be a pill for that. Check out my separate post on Gelesis/Plenity. SalMinus100

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