Ontrak CEO Jonathan Mayhew
Buoyed by the city’s position as the world’s leading finance and technology company, Los Angeles listed companies were able to maintain last year’s strong performance in 2021, despite not posting the same gains as major market indices overall.
The Los Angeles Business Journal’s stock index, which tracks nearly 150 publicly traded Los Angeles-based companies, saw a 52-week percentage change of 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.7% and the Nasdaq rose 21 .4% and the S&P 500 was up 26.9%.
Los Angeles’ most reliable earners have been in the financial services and materials industries, led by metals trader A-Mark Precious Metals Inc. of El Segundo. Although A-Mark stock fell below the Fortune 1000 in 2020, it gained 146% year over year, closing at $ 61.10 on December 31st. Not far behind the percentage gains was B. Riley Financial Inc., a Sawtelle-based financial services company, which rose 146% year over year and closed at $ 88.86 on December 31.
Other strong performers in the financial services industry include Koreatown-based Hanmi Financial Corp., which was up 109% in 2021 and closed at $ 23.68 at the end of the year, and Beverly Hills-based PacWest Bancorp, which was up 77.8% in 2021 and closed at $ 45.17.
“Materials companies are going to do very well this year,” said Dean Kim, executive director and research analyst at independent investment advisory firm William O’Neil & Co. Inc. “Inventory is going to do very well whether you are.” We’re talking about oil, gas or even precious metals, as there have been delivery bottlenecks since the arrival of Covid. “
Kim said the market has begun to respond to signals of impending rate hikes and the announcement of the Fed’s tightening in November. In the final quarter of 2021, investors began to shift into sectors that had done well during the Fed’s 2014 throttling, including healthcare, transportation, utilities, technology, and finance, among others.
The biggest Los Angeles winner in 2021 was Apollo Medical Holdings Inc., an Alhambra-based health management company that closed on December 31 for $ 73.48. Apollo Medical’s platform manages claims and acts as a gatekeeper for patient treatment for independent medical associations, or IPAs, which are consolidated groups of medical practices. The surge in Apollo stock, which serves 14 health care groups of more than 7,000 doctors across Southern California, coincided with a series of announcements about the company’s plans to expand nationally.
While the year-end marked a 302% year-over-year increase, the stock has declined steadily since its 52-week high of $ 133.23 in late November, a downtrend that has continued into the new year.
“Apollo has had such a big run-up that there is likely a lot of profit-taking,” Kim said, noting that he was generally positive on the stock. “Trying to find support around the 200-day moving average.”
The health industry also won the top spot among LA-based relegators. Ontrak Inc., a Santa Monica-based behavioral medicine and telemedicine company, ended the year at $ 6.29, down 89.8% year over year. The price drop from its February high of $ 93 was mainly caused by the loss of its two largest health insurance customers, who represented at least 40% of annual sales.
“With Ontrak, something is wrong with this company. You can see the earnings slow down, ”said Kim.
Ontrak CEO Jonathan Mayhew, who took the helm after the sharp decline in shares, announced in September that the company would expand its behavioral counseling offering to reach a wider range of patients.
Activision Blizzard Inc., based in Santa Monica, also suffered a significant slump during the year, falling 28.3% year over year to $ 66.53 as of December 31st. As the undisputed leader in online gaming until recently, the company hasn’t released many new game titles that could in part explain the decline in its share price. However, the main culprit is likely a series of sexual harassment investigations in the workplace announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the state of California, resulting in intense media scrutiny and a public relations challenge for Activision Blizzard.
“I think it’s a combination of things – these incidents and the fact that this company did really well in 2019-2021,” said Kim. “In the meantime, they may not be releasing the updates or new games that the market was expecting. Then there is the fact that the economy is trying to open up again and people don’t play at home all day. “
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