Alkami falls about 20% after ending its sale review, three months after Jana pushed for a deal

Alkami Technology shares fell about 20% in early trading Wednesday after the company said its board had finished a review of strategic options and decided the company should stay independent and public. The stock was at $14.55 shortly before 10 a.m. Eastern, down $3.54 from Tuesday's close of $18.09, according to Nasdaq data. Its 52-week low is $13.98.

In a short statement, the Dallas company said the board reached the decision unanimously after a "comprehensive review" run with financial and legal advisers. It gave no detail on whether any buyer made an offer. It reaffirmed its 2026 guidance of $528 million to $531 million in revenue and $96 million to $98 million in adjusted EBITDA, the same ranges it gave with second-quarter results on July 29.

Why the market expected a deal

The sale talk had a named sponsor. Activist fund JANA Partners disclosed a 6.3% stake, 6,747,707 shares, in a Schedule 13D filed June 29. In that filing, Jana said it believed the shares were undervalued and that it planned to talk with the board and management about "exploring a sale, including by engaging with multiple parties interested in a potential acquisition," along with governance and board leadership.

Wednesday's statement is the answer to that push, and it is a no. At the morning price, Jana's reported stake is worth about $98 million, roughly $24 million less than at Tuesday's close. We found no public response from Jana as of Wednesday morning, and it is not yet clear whether it will escalate. A material change in its plans would typically show up in an amended 13D, which is the filing to watch.

The number behind the drop

The business itself did not get worse on Wednesday. In its second-quarter release, Alkami reported revenue of $129.8 million, up 15.9% from a year earlier, annual recurring revenue of $511.7 million, up 21%, and adjusted EBITDA of $19.4 million, up from $11.9 million. It still posted a GAAP net loss of $8.9 million.

What changed is the price the market is willing to pay without a buyer in sight. At a market value of about $1.56 billion, Nasdaq data shows the stock now trades at roughly 3.0 times that recurring revenue figure and about 2.9 times the midpoint of this year's revenue guidance. That is a market-value comparison and does not adjust for Alkami's cash or debt. The takeover premium that had been built into the shares, on the view that a buyer would pay more, came out within minutes of the open.

Who it touches beyond shareholders

Alkami sells online and mobile banking software to U.S. banks and credit unions. It said in July that it had 23.6 million registered digital banking users and signed 37 new digital banking clients in the prior 12 months, including 15 banks. For those institutions, and the small businesses and households that log in through them, staying independent means no change of owner, no platform migration forced by a merger and continuity of the current product plans. For a community bank weighing a multi-year contract, that stability is arguably the more useful outcome.

For traders, the questions now are whether Jana files an amendment, and what Alkami says about its third quarter. The company guided to $132.7 million to $134.2 million in third-quarter revenue.

Sources: Alkami Technology; SEC EDGAR; Nasdaq. Share prices are from early trading and will change. This is market information, not investment advice.