Why Sonic Corporation (SONC), BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) and Western Digital Corp. (WDC) Are 3 of Today’s Worst Stocks

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Sales of new homes were strong, but durable goods orders came in weak, so traders weren’t quite sure what to think, today … and it showed.

Why Sonic Corporation (SONC), BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY) and Western Digital Corp. (WDC) Are 3 of Today's Worst StocksAfter starting slightly higher on Tuesday, stocks slipped into the red for a bit, then back into the black, and then peeled back to near-breakeven levels. When all was said and done, the S&P 500 closed at 2124.20, up a mere 0.06%.

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC), BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) and Sonic Corporation (NASDAQ:SONC), however, would have loved to post merely mediocre numbers on Tuesday. Instead, they were all pretty deep in the red. Here’s why.

Sonic Corporation (SONC)

Drive-in restaurant chain Sonic Corporation did everything it was expected to do last quarter, in terms of fiscal results. SONC shares fell more than 10% on Tuesday, however, because the future looks a little less bright than the company initially suggested.

The good news: Last quarter, Sonic Corporation earned 36 cents per share on $164.7 million worth of sales. Analysts were looking for, on average, a profit of 36 cents per share of SONC and a top line of $164.2 million.

The bad news: Fewer Sonic restaurants will be opening this year than had initially been suggested. Rather than the initial goal of between 50 and 60 new locations, now the company believes no more than 47 new restaurants will open their doors in 2015. The contracted new-store outlook was accompanied by a lackluster same-store sales growth outlook.

BlackBerry (BBRY)

The transition BlackBerry is making, from a hardware company to a software and services company, continues to hit potholes. On an operating basis, BlackBerry lost five cents per share on $658 million worth of revenue. The pros, however, were looking for a top line of $683 million and a loss of only three cents per share of BBRY.

Software and licensing sales grew 150% on a year-over-year basis to $137 million, initially suggesting CEO John Chen’s new software ambitions are right on target. The longer one studies the fine print of the software segment’s revenue growth, however, the less clear it becomes that BlackBerry will be able to sustain that growth. Indeed, BBRY shares were off more than 4% on Tuesday on those concerns.

Western Digital (WDC)

Already in a downtrend, Western Digital shares were shoved to new multi-month lows on Tuesday.

WDC shareholders can thank JP Morgan for doing the deed. The investment bank downgraded the disk drive maker from an “overweight” rating to a mere “neutral” option, simultaneously lowering its price target on Western Digital shares to $92. The 3% dip from WDC on Tuesday took it below that level, to a close at $88.62.

Although not downgraded, rival Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) saw its stock slip 2.9% in sympathy. Traders broadly assumed whatever headwind prompted the downgrade of WDC is also impacting STX.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/06/sonic-corporation-sonc-blackberry-ltd-bbry-western-digital-corp-wdc-3-todays-worst-stocks/.

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