Dave Inc shares experienced a sharp 13.52% decline over the past 24 hours, with the sell-off intensifying during post-market and overnight trading on Wednesday. The drop came after the company reported its second-quarter financial results, which despite beating consensus estimates, fell short of the lofty expectations built into the stock price ahead of the release.

The decline reflects a classic “buy the rumor, sell the news” scenario. In the lead-up to earnings, investment banks such as Barrington Research and UBS had aggressively raised their price targets on Dave, driving the stock to approximately $424 per share. This priced in highly optimistic expectations for continued outperformance, given the company’s history of beating estimates in prior quarters. Although Q2 adjusted EPS of $4.12 surpassed the consensus estimate of $3.67 and revenue of $170.8 million met expectations, the results were not strong enough to justify the premium valuation, triggering concentrated profit-taking.

The company’s Q2 report showed a 30% rise in revenue but a 26% decline in GAAP net income to $6.7 million, impacted by non-cash charges. Dave raised its full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EPS, but the forward outlook failed to reassure investors who had already discounted aggressive growth. The stock’s sharp retreat underscores the market’s sensitivity to any shortfall relative to heightened expectations.