It's been a rough six months for shareholders of 1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG).
After watching their shares soar as much as 2,745% to a high of $5.69, the shares have since retreated 64.3%. They're down 15.4% today alone at $2.03.
Although the company hasn't released any new information today which could explain the sharp fall, it's possible that the falls could be linked to an investor presentation issued yesterday after the market opened.
1-Page, which is a Silicon Valley-based company that provides cloud-based human resources from a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, said it would ramp up its spending during 2016 compared to 2015, lifting cash burn from roughly US$1.3 million a month to around US$2 million a month. Most of this (45% to 50%) will focus on sales and marketing, with 35% to 40% on research and development and the remainder on infrastructure to support the business.
As a growing technology business, it's necessary to spend cash quickly in order to build its strength and competitive position in the market. It appears to be doing a good job so far of building (and retaining) its client base, while revenues and cash flows are improving (albeit off a very low base).
In saying that however, 1-Page is still a very expensive business based on any traditional measures. It had a US$48.9 million cash balance as the end of the most recent quarter (thanks to a $50 million capital raising), so it has money to last for a while yet, but it appears investors are still exercising caution.
It's difficult to blame them. While I think 1-Page could have a bright future (I do own a small parcel of shares in the business), it is still speculative in nature and until it can build its revenues and operating cash flows, it remains a risky prospect.
Still, 1-Page could be worth a closer look for investors with a higher tolerance for risk, particularly if its shares do fall any further in price. Otherwise, investors could also look at online classifieds platform SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), which is far more established, with less volatile shares.
