Shares of Blue Apron Holdings Decline 6% as Challenges Persist

What happened

It's another down day for shares of Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN), a well-known meal delivery service, which are trending nearly 6% lower as of 3:20 p.m. EDT after investors and Wall Street remain pessimistic about the company's ability to move its top line higher.

So what

It's been a rough go for Blue Apron after its Initial Public Offering (IPO), and shares have shed over 81% of their value since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange late June 2017. The fourth quarter didn't bring good news either with net revenue declining 13% due to a decrease in customers and orders. Even more recently, one of Blue Apron's top competitors, HelloFresh, purchased Green Chef, which gives it control of roughly 36% of the market as of February 2018 and bumps Blue Apron down to the second largest market share at 35%. For context, Blue Apron's market share a year earlier checked in at 48%.

Now what

Blue Apron's share price decline today wasn't due to any specific news, rather it's simply the result of a small cap stock fluctuating -- Blue Apron's market capitalization is a meager $360 million. One thing for investors to consider is that Blue Apron's woes are seemingly self-inflicted, and thus fixable. For instance, HelloFresh has proven it can grow its top line with its revenue up 90% in 2017, compared to the prior year, and overall U.S. meal-kit sales increased 40.7% last year, according to Earnest Research. Blue Apron has a lot of work to do convincing investors it can reignite its top-line growth, or there will be many more days where it stock price trends lower.

10 stocks we like better than Blue Apron Holdings, Inc.When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 2, 2018

Daniel Miller has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.