Why Advance Auto Parts Stock Stalled on Friday

A pair of executive resignations led to a mild sell-off in Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) shares on Friday. The company's stock closed the day 0.5% lower on the news, on investor concern that the company's managerial structure might not be entirely stable. By comparison, the benchmark S&P 500 index landed in positive territory by rising 0.9%.

Double resignation

Before market open that day, Advance revealed in a regulatory filing that senior vice president of finance and treasurer Anthony Iskander and chief accounting officer Elizabeth Dreyer had both notified the auto parts retailer of their resignations.

Iskander, who served a brief stint as interim CFO late last year, told Advance his resignation will be effective next Friday, Oct. 11. Dreyer will depart sooner; her effective date is Saturday, Oct. 5. She is expected to serve as an advisor to advance through mid-January of next year, in order to help ensure a smooth transition. Current CFO Ryan Grimsland will take on principal accounting officer duties until Dreyer's permanent successor is found.

In the disclosure, Advance took pains to say that the resignation of both executives "is not the result of any disagreement regarding the company's financial reporting or accounting policies, procedures, estimates or judgements."

Not the popular car in the race

That may be true, but it wasn't necessarily comforting to investors. Advance has been in the market's doghouse since mid-August, when it reported second-quarter results that fell well short of analyst expectations for profitability. Hopefully for the company's shareholders, it can smoothly transition to new executives that can help improve its fundamentals.

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.