Kermit once sang that it's not easy being green.
If you hold shares in artificial intelligence service provider Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) you may well similarly cry it's not easy being an investor.
That's because the once darling tech share plummeted from $13.65 to $5.61 over the 2022 financial year.
That's a 59% drop in valuation.
Appen shares sank 13% just in the last month alone.
Yikes.
It was the continuation of a cliff the stock fell from its August 2020 peak, when it hit $43.66.
Those days must seem like another lifetime ago for its shareholders.
Image source: Getty Images
The longest day in Appen shareholders' lives
There was a glimmer of hope on a memorable day in May though.
On the morning of 26 May, Appen management disclosed to the market that it was in discussions with Canadian giant Telus International Cda Inc (TSE: TIXT) about a takeover.
There was much excitement as the acquisition proposal was for $9.50 per share, which was a 46% premium on the price at the time.
The share price shot up 35% within minutes of the market opening.
On that same eventful day, the company released a trading update.
"That update reveals that Appen's year-to-date revenue was lower than it was at this time last year at the end of April," reported The Motley Fool at the time.
"In light of this, the company expects its first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be 'materially lower than the prior corresponding period'."
Apparently, Telus also saw that not-so-flattering projection. Because hours later the company completely withdrew its acquisition proposal and all ongoing due diligence around it.
It was a remarkable nine hours for Appen and its shareholders.
What would the experts do with Appen shares?
Datt Capital principal Emanuel Datt told The Motley Fool that he would stay away from Appen shares now on the assumption that there are no other buyers sniffing around.
"We just get the sense that there's been a lot more competition in the particular sector," he said last month.
"It raises questions for us because, ultimately, if revenues have fallen, that increases the probability of potentially writing down assets and making a big after-tax loss, which the market will definitely not like."
Even if there is acquisition interest from other parties, Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu warned investors to not get sucked in by that prospect.
"It's just hard to invest something for M&A to come through," she told The Motley Fool last month.
"This company is very difficult to hold because the earnings keep disappointing — whether it's really caused by the COVID disruption or whether it's just large tech companies are really cutting back on some of the spends."
