Shares in software-as-a-service engineering and construction business Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) are trading flat at $3.75 today and have collapsed in half over the past year as the market struggles to value a business that hit the ASX boards in December 2014.
Just over a year ago Aconex shares changed hands for around $8.30, but today sell for just $3.76 with a group of traders, hedge funds, and speculators betting heavily on the share price falling further.
In fact around 11 per cent of Aconex stock has been short sold by traders who expect to buy the stock back cheaper in the future, before returning it to its legal owners.
Fuelling the short selling are the company's large acquisitions and valuation around $737 million, versus an EBIT loss of $3.8 million for the six-month period ending December 31 2016.
Aconex is forecasting full year EBITDA (operating income) of $15 million to $18 million, before adjusting for integration costs related to its recent acquisition spree. Full year revenue is forecast to come in at $160 million to $165 million, with the company boasting it can deliver more than 20 per cent revenue growth "over the medium to long-term".
Given its decent potential, but arguably large valuation and substantial short interest, Aconex shares could be volatile when it hands down its profit report later this month.
