What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investor fears over artificial intelligence disrupting the software industry sparked a broad sell-off.
The anxiety stemmed from the rapid adoption of new 'agentic AI' tools, which some investors believed could dismantle traditional Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business models. This 'AI Panic' led to indiscriminate selling across the sector. The market move reflected growing concerns about the downside of the AI boom for established software companies.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Data Analytics company Samsara (NYSE: IOT) fell 4.7%. Is now the time to buy Samsara? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Design Software company Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ: CDNS) fell 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Cadence Design Systems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Finance and Accounting Software company BILL (NYSE: BILL) fell 4.1%. Is now the time to buy BILL? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Compliance Software company Workiva (NYSE: WK) fell 6.8%. Is now the time to buy Workiva? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Identity Management company Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) fell 6.1%. Is now the time to buy Okta? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Workiva (WK)
Workiva’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock dropped 9.1% on the news that fears of disruption from artificial intelligence spooked investors, leading to a broad-based sell-off. The market witnessed a "basket-style reaction," a term for when investors reduce exposure to an entire segment without differentiating between individual company business models. The negative sentiment was widespread, pulling down all of the Magnificent Seven stocks and sending the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector down nearly 3%.
Workiva is down 30.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $58.01 per share, it is trading 37.8% below its 52-week high of $93.31 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Workiva’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $536.53.
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