The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price suffered once more on Wednesday, tumbling to its lowest point since 2018.
The fall came after short sellers upped their siege on the stock. But one broker is still hopeful the buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant could stage a comeback.
As of Wednesday's close, the Zip share price is $1.015, 5.14% lower than it was at the end of Tuesday's session.
But that's an improvement on its early trade. The BNPL stock slumped to trade at $1 in intraday trade on Wednesday.
At least it wasn't alone in its suffering. As of the end of trade, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) were down 0.75% and 0.78% respectively.
Let's take a look at what might have weighed on Zip's stock today and what its future could bring.
Zip share price hits disappointing milestone
Well, it's finally happened, folks. The Zip share price has hit $1.
The solemn milestone comes only 14 months after the stock reached its all-time high of $14.53. That means the Zip share price has tumbled a whopping 92% between then and now.
And if investors once thought the new year could see the stock turn around, they've been bitterly disappointed. Since the start of 2022, it has fallen 76% from $4.33.
Today's plunge was likely due to the tech sector's movements.
While Zip is technically at home on the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ), it more often follows the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ).
The information technology sector plunged 2.43% on Wednesday, likely helped along by the Nasdaq Composite's 3.95% tumble overnight.
But could the future be brighter for the Zip share price? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Short sellers seem to think not. As The Motley Fool Australia's James Mickleboro recently reported, Zip's short position increased last week, reaching 9.2%. That means more market participants are betting the stock will drop.
Additionally, UBS slapped Zip with a $1 price target and a 'sell' rating back in March.
It's a similar story out of Jefferies, while Macquarie and Morgans are slightly more bullish, giving targets of $1.05 and $1.26 respectively, Mickleboro reported earlier this week.
On the other hand, Citi has a $2.15 price target and a 'neutral' rating on Zip shares, as my colleague Sebastian Bowen reported yesterday.
