What Happened?
Shares of human capital management provider Alight (NYSE: ALIT) fell 8.5% in the afternoon session after Citi downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, following the company's very weak fourth-quarter 2025 financial report.
The downgrade, which included a steep price target cut to $1.00 from $6.50, extended a sharp sell-off from the previous trading session. The company's fourth-quarter results fell short of expectations, with earnings per share of $0.18 missing the forecast of $0.24.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Alight’s shares are very volatile and have had 27 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 1 month ago when the stock dropped 7.1% on the news that the company announced its Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Heaton, would be leaving the company. Heaton planned to pursue an opportunity outside of the benefits administration industry. In his place, Alight appointed Greg Giometti, the company's Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, as the Interim Chief Financial Officer, effective January 9. The departure of a key executive like a CFO often creates uncertainty among investors regarding a company's financial stability and future direction, which can negatively impact the stock price.
Alight is down 60.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $0.74 per share, it is trading 89.3% below its 52-week high of $6.97 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Alight’s shares at the IPO in July 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $82.28.
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