Why Snap Inc (SNAP), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (PBR) Are 3 of Today’s Worst Stocks

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Tuesday wasn’t a good day for stocks, though it could have been worse. By the time the closing bell rang, the S&P 500 was at 2,365.45, down 0.34%. That was below some key technical levels, but above other key marks, as traders now have a little too much to think about.

Why Snap Inc (SNAP), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (PBR) Are 3 of Today's Worst StocksThat being said, Tuesday was “worse” for owners of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR). Here’s what investors need to know about the big pullback logged by each name.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (PBR)

Another decent day for the U.S. dollar meant another tough day for crude oil, which in turn meant another tough day for oil stocks. Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) was off by 3.3%, closely followed by Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR) with its 3.8% dip. Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras — you know it better as just Petrobras — won the race to the bottom on Tuesday, however, with its 4.1% slide.

Crude oil’s setback and the subsequent meltdown of oil stocks like PBR and MRO were arguably more preemptive than not. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to make a decision regarding interest rates tomorrow, and the odds-on expectation is for 1/4 point. That will up the value of the greenback, and therefore works against oil prices. Traders may have been a little bit overzealous with their punishment of some oil stocks today, however.

Snap Inc (SNAP)

A beleaguered and ballyhooed Snap Inc. (the parent company of internet messaging service Snapchat) once again found itself on the wrong side of investor sentiment, logging a 2.4% tumble before all was said and done.

The grappling isn’t difficult to understand. Snap is wildly overvalued when you’re looking at revenue or earnings (or lack thereof), and plenty of pundits haven’t been afraid to say so. Snap still has a strong following the bulls, however, and although Tuesday marks the fourth straight loss the stock has taken after just nine days of being publicly traded, shares remain well above their IPO price of $17.

Online marketing intelligence and research outfit eMarketer may have spurred the bulk of Tuesday’s selloff. The group’s 2017 advertising revenue forecast for Snapchat was reeled in to the tune of $30 million, lowering a previous forecast that had pegged the young company’s top line at more than $800 million for the current year.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX)

Finally, drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals was completely upended today following surprising news unveiled last night. That is, hedge fund manager and activist investor Bill Ackman (who had largely been calling the shots for Valeant for the past few years) disclosed he had completely closed out his fund’s position in VRX. The move serves as a sort of pseudo-signal he didn’t see much hope for the company’s future, in that he locked in a $4 billion loss by bailing out now.

BMO Capital analyst Gary Nachman opined:

“The timing of this decision is particularly noteworthy since new management is just beginning to implement a number of its strategic initiatives, including asset sales to help pay down debt, pipeline approvals and new launches, and a primary care effort behind key product Xifaxan to accelerate that product.”

VRX ended the day down 10.1%.

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


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/03/why-snap-inc-snap-valeant-pharmaceuticals-intl-inc-vrx-and-petroleo-brasileiro-sa-petrobras-adr-pbr-are-3-of-todays-worst-stocks/.

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