News of a multi-million dollar agreement with the Financial Services Authority has failed to arrest a slide in the share price of search and discovery software house Autonomy that was triggered by a recent revision to its sales guidance and a downgrade note from a former staffer turned Deutsche Bank analyst.
News of the FSA deal - released in a brief statement to the stock exchange Wednesday morning - failed to rally investor interest in the stock, which slipped a further 14 pence in early morning trading to 1430 pence.
Autonomy's share price has been on a downward spiral after the company revised its sales estimates downwards by three percent last week. The stock took another battering yesterday following a downgrade note by Deutsche Bank analyst Mark Geall, who was the former head of investor relations and corporate strategy at Autonomy.
He says Autonomy has failed to invest in a changing market and now needs to either re-set its margins or make a risky transformational acquisition.
"Regulatory demand has supported Autonomy's growth rate over the last two years," the note avers. "But it is new opportunities that provide revenue upside...We downgrade to Hold"