It wasn’t the best of years for Orange County’s publicly traded companies.
Only 21 of the 65 companies tracked on the OCBJ-BNY Mellon list of publicly traded companies reported a share increase in 2018.
By contrast, 51 companies had a positive 2017.
Forty-one of the companies on the list performed worse than the S&P 500, which dropped 4.4%, including dividends, over the course of 2018.
The best local performer was Irvine-based Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX), which climbed 135% to $58.81 and a $3.6 billion market cap.
Alteryx, a maker of data analytics software, went public in March 2017 at $14 a share.
Another high flier was San Clemente-based Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS), which makes devices to treat glaucoma. It soared 119% to $55.45 and a $2 billion market cap (see separate story on Businessperson of the Year on page 6).
Others with good years included Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ENSG), up 76% to a $2 billion market cap; Anaheim-based Bridgford Foods Corp. (Nasdaq: BRID), up 58% to a $173 million market cap; and Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LOCO), up 53% to a $583 million market cap.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) proved adept in hiring Taco Bell veteran Brian Niccol, who moved the restaurant chain’s headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach last year. The stock climbed 49% last year to a $12.3 billion market cap.
On the Downside
The worst area performer was Irvine-based Terra Tech Corp. (OTC: TRTC), a supplier of cannabis, which didn’t impress Wall Street even though the industry last year became legal in California.
Terra Tech tried to get out of penny stock doldrums through a reverse split, and Chief Executive Derek Peterson even bought a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal where he implored President Donald Trump to ease banking rules against pot companies.
Nothing worked as the stock fell 90% to 65 cents and a $15 million market cap.
Other sad performers included Irvine-based Endologix Inc. (Nasdaq: ELGX) which dropped 87% to a $3.4 million market cap, Costa Mesa-based Veritone Inc. (Nasdaq: VERI), which slumped 84% to an $82 million market cap, and Irvine-based AutoWeb Inc. (Nasdaq: AUTO), which declined 66% to a $40 million cap.
Homebuilders and real estate developers based in Orange County also faced the wrath of rising interest rates and signs of a slowing economy.
Among the decliners were Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes (NYSE: WLH), down 63% to a $424 million market cap; Aliso Viejo-based The New Home Co. (NYSE: NWHM), off 58% to a $118 million value, Aliso Viejo-based Five Point Holdings LLC (NYSE: FPH), off 51% to a $458 million cap; and Irvine-based TRI Pointe Group Inc. (NYSE: TPH), down 39% to a $1.6 billion market cap.
The five biggest publicly traded banks of Orange County each fell more than 18% over the course of the year. The largest bank based here, Irvine’s Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PPBI), reached a $2 billion market value earlier in 2018 and then plunged in October to finish the year with a 36% decline. It ended the year with a $1.6 billion market cap.
The most valuable public company based in OC continued to be Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW). The medical device maker best known for its artificial heart valves climbed 36% to a $30.9 billion market cap.
Its stock price surged late in the year after rumors of a potential acquisition that never materialized.
Bigger is Better
The biggest companies when ranked by employees in Orange County had a relatively successful year.
The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), which is based in Burbank and is the biggest OC employer with 30,000 workers, saw shares increase 3.6% over the course of 2018.
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), the Chicago-based defense and aviation giant that ranks as the 10th-largest employer here with 6,000 people in OC, climbed about 12%.
Three Irvine companies in the health sector went public to decidedly less than spectacular results.
Axonics Modulation Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AXNX), a maker of devices to treat urinary dysfunction, priced its shares at $15 each; it’s now trading around $14 for a $385 million market cap. Biopharma company Urovant Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: UROV) made its debut on Sept. 27, selling 10 million shares at $14 each, raising about $140 million in proceeds. However, it’s fallen out of favor as its stock now trades around $7 for a $212 million market cap.
Evolus Inc. (Nasdaq: EOLS), which has its own version of Botox, in February priced its shares at $12, the low end of its range. It closed the year at $11.90 for a $390 million market cap.
OC’s rough year obfuscated one of the most impressive tenures in OC tech history when Microsemi Corp. was purchased in May for $10.3 billion by Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP).
While the purchase capped a 33% climb for the year for Microsemi, more importantly it highlighted Jim Peterson’s impressive 18-year run as chief executive of the Aliso Viejo-based company.
He took over in 2000 when the company languished around a $300 million market cap and increased its value 34 fold. See our profile on Peterson on page 4.
