HLI Stock Falls -13% With A 7-day Losing Spree On Weak Jobs Data
Houlihan Lokey (HLI) – a provider of M&A, restructuring, and financial advisory services. – hit a 7-day losing streak, with cumulative losses over this period amounting to -13%. The company’s market cap has crashed by about $1.5 Bil over the last 7 days and currently stands at $9.8 Bil.
The stock has YTD (year-to-date) return of 15.4% compared to -0.7% for S&P 500. This calls for a re-evaluation of the stock’s valuation to find out whether this is an opportunity or a trap.
What Triggered The Slide?
[1] Weak February Jobs Report
- US economy lost 92,000 jobs vs. expectations of a 60,000 gain
- Unemployment rate rose to 4.4%
- Impact: Sector-wide sell-off in financials, Stock fell 3% on the day of the report
[2] Rising Bearish Sentiment
- Short interest increased 36.5% as of Feb 13th
- Stock trading below 50-day and 200-day moving averages
- Impact: Sustained institutional selling, Negative technical momentum
Opportunity or Trap?
Below is our take on valuation.
There is not much to fear in HLI stock given its overall Strong operating performance and financial condition. Hence, despite its Moderate valuation, this makes the stock look Risky (For details, see Buy or Sell HLI).
But here is the real interesting point.
You are reading about this -13% move after it happened. The market has already priced in the news. To avoid the next loser before the headlines, you need predictive signals, not notifications. Our High Quality Portfolio has a risk model designed to reduce exposure to losers.
Returns vs S&P 500
The following table summarizes the return for HLI stock vs. the S&P 500 index over different periods, including the current streak:
| Return Period | HLI | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| 1D | -2.9% | 0.8% |
| 7D (Current Streak) | -13.2% | -1.6% |
| 1M (21D) | -12.3% | -0.0% |
| 3M (63D) | -17.9% | -0.9% |
| YTD 2026 | -15.4% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 1.6% | 16.4% |
| 2024 | 47.0% | 23.3% |
| 2023 | 40.7% | 24.2% |
Gains and Losses Streaks: S&P 500 Constituents
There are currently 14 S&P constituents with 3 days or more of consecutive gains and 99 constituents with 3 days or more of consecutive losses.
| Consecutive Days | # of Gainers | # of Losers |
|---|---|---|
| 3D | 6 | 53 |
| 4D | 3 | 7 |
| 5D | 2 | 16 |
| 6D | 3 | 16 |
| 7D or more | 0 | 7 |
| Total >=3 D | 14 | 99 |
Key Financials for Houlihan Lokey (HLI)
Last 2 Fiscal Years:
| Metric | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $1.9 Bil | $2.4 Bil |
| Operating Income | $399.1 Mil | $556.3 Mil |
| Net Income | $280.3 Mil | $399.7 Mil |
Last 2 Fiscal Quarters:
| Metric | 2026 FQ2 | 2026 FQ3 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $659.5 Mil | $717.1 Mil |
| Operating Income | $169.0 Mil | $178.3 Mil |
| Net Income | $111.8 Mil | $116.5 Mil |
The losing streak HLI stock is currently on doesn’t inspire much confidence among investors. In contrast, Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.