BAC, C, SHPG – Wednesday’s Sliding Stocks

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The stock market took a beating again Wednesday as October’s gloom-and-doom mentality continued to show its ugly face on Wall Street.

shpg stock c stock bac stock market todayWhile Wall Street bled today — the S&P 500 shed 0.8% and 78% of stocks traded below their 50-day moving averages — those losses came after the stock market made back a healthy portion of its losses in late trading.

The common fears of the last few weeks are still weighing heavy on investors’ minds, with sluggish European growth and the spread of Ebola taking the forefront.

However, three of today’s worst performers — Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and Shire (SHPG) — plunged for unrelated reasons.

Bank of America (BAC)

BAC stock finished down 4.6% today on the heels of its third-quarter results. While net income actually came in slightly above analyst forecasts, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank booked a whopping $10.65 billion settlement with the Department of Justice in the quarter. The payment is the last large litigation expense BAC will likely have to deal with as a result of the financial crisis.

But it wasn’t the 11-figure settlement with the feds that sent BAC stock plunging today. Revenue in the third quarter actually fell from the same period last year, and came in well below analyst expectations.

Citigroup (C)

C stock joined BAC as another large financial company taking heat from the Street. C stock gave up yesterday’s 3.2% gains and then some, shedding 4.7% as the “risk-off” attitude of the markets and an ominous revenue miss by Bank of America led investors to re-allocate their portfolios. With interest rates falling, InvestorPlace Market Strategist Anthony Mirhaydari explains why you might want to avoid Citigroup shares going forward:

“Citigroup (C) is testing its 50-day moving average for the first time since August as the entire sector rolls over. Shares jumped Tuesday morning on better-than-expected Q3 results, but it looks like a rebound to sell. A drop in long-term interest rates will pressure net interest margins at a time when the company is exiting 11 markets due to a lack of competitiveness.”

Shire (SHPG)

The shortcomings of financials like C and BAC, though notable, are mere peanuts compared to the woes Irish biopharmaceutical company Shire plc faced today. Shares lost 30% on Wednesday as Wall Street thinks the planned acquisition by AbbVie (ABBV) is far less likely to occur than previously thought.

It looked like the $54 billion acquisition of SHPG by ABBV was a done deal until recently, as the U.S. Treasury put so-called tax-inversion deals in its sights and passed rules against them. Then today, AbbVie announced it was reconsidering the deal — bad luck for SHPG shareholders.

As of this writing John Divine held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter at @divinebizkid.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/10/shpg-stock-c-stock-bac-stock-market-today/.

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