OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) shares plummeted 6.39% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following the release of its third-quarter earnings report. The sharp decline comes despite the company beating analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue.

OceanFirst reported Q3 core earnings of $0.36 per diluted share, down from $0.39 a year earlier but slightly above the FactSet analyst consensus of $0.35. Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 rose to $103 million, compared with $96.9 million a year earlier and marginally higher than the expected $102.7 million.

The significant stock drop may be attributed to several factors, including the year-over-year decline in core earnings despite the beat. Investors might also be engaging in profit-taking, as OceanFirst shares had risen by 10% in the quarter and gained 6.8% year-to-date prior to this movement. Additionally, concerns about the declining earnings trend and the minimal nature of the earnings beat (just one cent per share) could be contributing to the negative sentiment in pre-market trading.