Why iRobot Corporation Stock Plunged Today
Shares of Roomba maker iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) were down 14.5% as of 3:15 EDT Wednesday, as a short-seller renewed his attack on the company following the entrance of a new competitor.
More specifically, last week privately held SharkNinja marked its official entrance into the robotic vacuum market with its new Shark Ion Robot 750, which arrives at a suggested retail price of $349.99. By comparison, iRobot's various robotic-vacuum models have prices ranging from $299.99 (for its entry-level Roomba 614), to $899.99 (for its high-end Roomba 890).
As a result, today Spruce Point Capital warned that SharkNinja "is a credible threat to iRobot" given its knack for marketing, as well as engineering high-quality products at value price points -- two strengths that helped it successfully take market share from Dyson in recent years in the upright-vacuum market.
Source: Fool.com