Welcome to the first Talkin’ Cloud Stocks Index update of 2012. The 20 SaaS SaaS and cloud providers we track were essentially flat for the week ending January 6, 2012, with a tiny .03 percent. That’s disappointing considering the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq rose 2.7 percent, according to CNNMoney.
Before we take a closer look at the week’s cloud movers and shakers, it’s our standard disclaimer. We maintain the Talkin’ Cloud Stocks Index to measure the cloud industry’s progress. We don’t offer specific financial advice, and whether you potentially buy, sell, or hold is up to you and you alone.
The week’s big winner was Athenahealth (ATHN), which rose 8.31 percent to $53.20/share, as analysts realize that increased competition in the healthcare SaaS space combined with ATHN’s strong market record to date may be worth watching.
Other strong performers included Amazon.com (AMZN), which rose 5.49 percent to $182.61 per share, even as investors started to worry about the e-retail giant’s Q4 results. Also, new Talkin Cloud Stocks Index member CommVault (CVLT), which rose 6.30 percent to $45.41/share precipitated by the announcement that the information management specialist is going to ring the NYSE’s opening bell on January 9th. Really.
Meanwhile, the biggest loser was cloud storage vendor Carbonite (CARB), which fell 9.37 percent to $10.06/share. The worst part is that it doesn’t really seem obvious why.
Following closely behind Carbonite was Rackspace Hosting (RAX), which fell a dramatic 9.35 percent to $38.99/share for no readily apparent reason. My guess? Rackspace ended 2011 on a strong note, and investors were worried about how much higher it could go, causing a sell-off. I think CARB may have been a victim of a similar phenomenon, but we may never know for sure.
On a final note, I want to call out Google (GOOG), which traded above $650/share for the first time in four years, but still only posted a minuscule 0.64 percent gain for the week.
And there you have it: A flat first week of 2012 for cloud stocks — somewhat disappointing, considering the broader markets had a strong week. Come back the same time next week to see if there’s a little more moving and maybe a dash more shaking.
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