Angie’s List: Brain Drain, or Business Woes?

Shares of Angie’s List fell almost 6% after the departure of Manu Thapar as Chief Technology Officer was announced, and with no explanation in the SEC filing. You know that it is often considered bad when a chief finance officer leaves a bank or financial firm, and the same is true of chief technology officer of an online company. Speaking of CFOs, Angie’s List announced a new CFO as recently as August.

One issue which may be weighing on Angie’s List and others is that the public is now questioning online review websites. Whether this was an issue here is still up for debate. Unfortunately, Consumer Reports recently took issue with the Angie’s List revenue model because the companies advertised are the companies they are rating.

A fresh research report from B. Riley was highlighted by Dow Jones on Tuesday as bringing up concern about the marketplaces operation that is about 8% of the company’s sales. It was called a technological challenge with a high payoff if properly executed.

So, the verdict remains out on what driving force is causing the most damage here. The verdict is also out over whether the selloff has been too much or whether it is only beginning. Unfortunately for the company and its investors, Angie’s List posted an operating loss of -$0.92 EPS in 2012 and is expected to lose again with a loss of -$0.41 in 2013.

Shares closed down almost 10% more on Tuesday at $20.30 against a 52-week range of $8.95 to $28.32. Angie’s List has a $1.2 billion market cap and its sales growth is expected to be 59% to some $248 million in 2013 according to Thomson Reuters.