It's down to $25 usd. That's a 28.8% 6 month low.
Someone in ELT is going to push the layoff button because they don't have any other buttons.
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If anyone thinks this is the floor for the stock, remember Lucent.
The story of Lucent Technologies is one of the most poignant "cautionary tales" of the dot-com era. It’s a story of how a "sure thing" turned into a financial disaster, particularly for the thousands of employees who believed the company was invincible.
The Era of "Invincibility"
In the late 1990s, Lucent was the gold standard. Spun off from AT&T in 1996, it owned Bell Labs—the legendary "Idea Factory" that invented the transistor and the laser. To employees, Lucent wasn't just a company; it was a national treasure.
• The Peak: At its height in December 1999, the stock hit a split-adjusted high of about $84.
• The Sentiment: Employees weren't just shareholders; they were true believers. Many had their entire 401(k)s loaded with Lucent stock. The internal culture was one of "unlimited growth." When the stock first began to slip from its $80 highs, the common refrain in the hallways of Murray Hill and Holmdel was: "It’s just a correction. It’s Bell Labs—it can’t fail."
The Slide to $20: "The Great Opportunity"
As the year 2000 progressed, the stock began a steady decline. By late 2000 and early 2001, it hit the $20 range.
For many employees, this felt like a gift. They viewed $20 as an absolute floor. Many doubled down, buying more shares or exercising options, convinced that the stock would inevitably bounce back to $80.
To them, Lucent at $20 was "on sale." They didn't see the underlying rot:
• Vendor Financing: Lucent was essentially lending money to startup telecom companies so they could buy Lucent equipment—a "shell game" that eventually collapsed.
• Accounting Scandals: The company was caught front-loading revenue to meet Wall Street's aggressive targets.
The Crash to $2 and Below
The "floor" at $20 turned out to be a trapdoor. By 2002, the dot-com bubble hadn't just burst; it had incinerated. The telecommunications sector collapsed as companies realized they had overbuilt fiber-optic networks.
• The Bottom: By October 2002, Lucent stock didn't just hit $2—it bottomed out at $0.55 per share.
• The Human Toll: The impact on employees was devastating. People who had been "paper millionaires" at $80 saw their retirement accounts evaporate. Those who bought in at $20 lost 90% of that "discounted" investment.
The Aftermath
Lucent never recovered its former glory. It eventually merged with the French company Alcatel in 2006 (becoming Alcatel-Lucent), which was later acquired by Nokia.
The Lesson: The Lucent story became the textbook example of why employees should diversify their 401(k)s. It proved that even a company with the greatest scientists in the world and a 100-year pedigree can go to zero if the financial foundation is built on "optical illusions."
$21.85 USD and plummeting! Whoohooooooo!
@1dr As of the close of markets yesterday (Friday, March 20, 2026), the "Value Extractor" strategy is being reflected quite harshly in the ticker. OTEX is currently in a defensive crouch.
Here is the breakdown of the stock’s performance and the market’s current "vibe" toward the company:
The Numbers (As of March 21, 2026)
• Current Price: $22.57 (NASDAQ)
• Recent Momentum: Down approximately 8% over the last 30 days.
• 52-Week Range: $21.91 – $39.87
• Market Cap: ~$5.65 Billion
The stock is currently trading near its 52-week low. For context, it has shed nearly 43% of its value from its high point last year. The market is effectively pricing in the "hollowing out" of the legacy business.
The "squeeze" isn't providing the immediate sugar high investors usually want from a restructuring.
Here is why the stock is underperforming:
• The Divestiture Discount: While the sales of eDOCS ($163M) and Vertica ($150M) were intended to pay down the Micro Focus debt, Wall Street is viewing them as "fire sales" of declining assets. It confirms that the organic growth isn't there, so they have to sell the furniture to pay the mortgage.
• The "Antoun Wait-and-See": With Ayman Antoun not taking the wheel until April 20, the stock is in a leadership vacuum. Investors are waiting to see if he brings a "Growth" plan or just an "IBM-style Efficiency" plan. If he announces more cuts on Monday (as rumored), the stock might see a short-term "efficiency" pop, but long-term confidence remains shaky.
• Consensus Rating: Analysts currently have a "Hold" consensus. Out of 23 major analysts, 22 are sitting on the sidelines. Nobody wants to buy the dip until they see if the SMB Cybersecurity unit can actually stabilize.
At its current price, OTEX is sporting a dividend yield of nearly 4.9%. In a healthy tech company, that’s attractive; in a "Value Extractor" like the 90s Computer Associates, it often signals that the company has no better place to put its cash (like R&D) than giving it back to shareholders to keep them from fleeing.
The stock is performing exactly like a company in the middle of a "Broadcom-ification" transition. It's being valued as a legacy utility rather than a tech innovator. If the rumored layoffs hit this Monday, the market will be looking for one thing: Does this actually improve the margins, or is it just more "pips squeaking"?
It was below $23 US at close yesterday. This is so great.
I can't wait to see how many people get kicked to the curb on March 23. Good luck, India. You deliver poor quality yes-man slop and made your mark by being the cheapest labor around. Now that your cost of living has increased, you're going to be replaced by janky AI slop. You deserve it, you spineless nitwits.
Down 51+% from five years ago, baby!
Down, down, down...
Price so low, where's it stop? Nobody knows!
@g3 OTEX has been doing poorly in comparison to the market long before the current events.
Are you to stupid to compare OTEX to some indices or index funds with yahoo finance or similar, or are you an OTEX corporate shill?
@g3 Huffing that copium, huh?
For the budding Warren Buffets on here, all stocks are tanking atm. My own portfolio of 20 core stocks is down 7% since you know who decided to go war to counteract poor domestic policy and Epstein.
@d4 It can be a few things - just like how the CEO announcement didnt bump it much either.
A lot of our divestures have been bargains. That's not something the market should really celebrate and we're still not done with debt.
Layoffs from this quarter (if the speculated 3/23 is right) can bleed into end of year.
We may see small spikes but a prolonged gain isnt super likely rn.
@by why would the stock tank after a divesture
@ah Wait until the legacy Microfocus ADM BU is carved out. That's happening soon. Stock will tank.
@aj Small/Medium Business and Consumer.
Carbonite.com
Webroot.com
Zix.com
Hightail.com
Send it lower
What is smbc
Once SMBC is off loaded I think it will drop to around $22