NEW YORK, Jan 22 — One day after shares of at-home fitness company Peloton tumbled, Netflix found itself in Wall Street’s hot seat yesterday as markets reassess the diminishing growth prospects of so-called “pandemic stocks.”
Such sell-offs are a particularly brutal manifestation of a market dynamic that’s been going on for months in stay-at-home equities, whose investment thesis has worsened with the lessening risk of pandemic-caused lockdowns. Many of these companies attained valuations built on the idea that the fast growth seen during the pandemic would continue.
In a memo to staff late Thursday, Peloton Chief Executive John Foley said, “rumours that we are halting all production of bikes and treads are false.” Volokhine, while bearish on Peloton and skeptical of the staying power of the at-home fitness trend, pointed to Zoom, the video conferencing software that boomed during the pandemic. While it may survive, he predicts it won’t grow as quickly as in the past.