Nutanix Stock Plummets; Product Development Leader To Resign

Nutanix stock dropped more than 16 percent in after-hours trading after the hyper-converged infrastructure specialist released its third quarter earnings Thursday afternoon, missing revenue estimates.

Nutanix reported sales of $287 million, down 1 percent year over year, which is below what the company had previously projected of third quarter sales guidance between $290 million and $300 million. Billings for the third quarter 2019 also fell 1 percent from $351 million to $346 million year over year. Nutanix had projected third quarter billings to be between $360 million and $370 million.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company’s stock was hovering around $27 per share in after-hours trading Thursday, which is the lowest the stock has since late 2017.

[Related: Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey On Beating VMware With ‘Openness’]

“While we faced a top-line impact in our third quarter as we continue to execute our strategic shift toward a recurring revenue business model, our strong foundation and commitment to our customers position us well for the long term,” said Dheeraj Pandey, Chairman, founder and CEO of Nutanix in a statement. “Successful businesses are built over time on a bedrock of exceptional products, outstanding customer support and talented and committed employees. With solid sales hiring in Q3 and increased adoption of our AHV hypervisor, indicating a strong product and enthusiastic customers, I truly believe Nutanix has that foundation in place.”

In other company news, Nutanix’s Chief Product and Development Officer Sunil Potti -- who was critical in driving the company’s innovation engine over the past four years -- announced on May 28 that he is resigning from his position, according to an SEC filing on Thursday.

Potti is set to leave from his position at Nutnaix on June 21, 2019 “to pursue another opportunity,” according to the filing. Potti has been instrumental in the company’s product roadmap innovation and was a main figure on stage at Nutanix .NEXT earlier this month.