Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) had traded higher after beating earnings expectations on Thursday evening. In fact, the shares were up over 4% in the after-hours reporting period. The stock then opened higher on Friday and was within one percent of new all-time highs. Then something hit the fan when news of Ukraine and Russia broke, and shares slid and slid.

With close to an hour before the closing bell Autodesk shares were down 6.4% at $52.70 . We had also seen 11.2 million shares trade with an hour or so until the close – about 6 times the normal trading volume.

Autodesk was up less than 1% on Thursday ahead of earnings, but the after-hours reaction had shares up around $59.00. In its earnings report it forecasted a revenue growth of 7% to 9%, which translates to $2.43 billion to $2.48 billion. Also mentioned in the report was a large growth in its subscribers totaling about 2 million in the second quarter.

What makes Friday’s move even more confusing is that analysts were by and large favorable. J.P. Morgan raised its target to $73 from $66 and Pacific Crest raised its price target to $66 from $60. RBC even raised its target up to $70 on Friday.

It is hard to imagine that this would be dragged down so much harder than the broad market due to geopolitical news out of Russia and the Ukraine. Still, this is a Friday in August and anything can happen on summer Fridays. Lastly, getting to sell right at 52-week or all-time highs has its allure – particularly if you are getting worried about the state of the recovery.

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