For the ninth day in a row, the S&P 500 remained trapped in a range, as traders remained unable to justify higher highs with stocks being as overbought as they are. The S&P 500’s close of 2170.84 was 0.13% lower than Friday’s last trade, but still above the recent floor of 2160.
Not every name dodged a bullet on Monday, however. Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) each got the new trading week started on a very bearish foot.
Here’s what investors need to know.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (KERX)
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals were sent a whopping 35% lower today after the company announced it was forced to stop production of its one and only product, and doesn’t anticipate restarting production until the fourth quarter.
The drug in question — Auryxia, for dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease — was approved in late 2014, and it had gotten respectable traction since then for the micro-cap company. Last quarter’s sales rolled in at $8.3 million, up from $1.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The cause of the production halt is still unclear. KERX simply said its manufacturer was facing a production-related issue in converting the active pharmaceutical ingredient into a finished drug product.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (ADR) (PBR)
In its defense, all oil stocks suffered on Monday, in response to a sizeable setback in the value of crude oil. Brazilian oil name Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras though — usually just called Petrobras — was especially vulnerable to oil’s stumble on Monday, thanks to bond-rating agency Moody’s.
The 2% pullback in the price of oil was spurred mostly by a report from OPEC posted after Friday’s close that suggested the organization pumped a record-breaking amount of oil last month. Fanning the flames was news of an increase in the number of operational U.S. oilrigs.
Even without the OPEC report though, PBR was in trouble. On Monday morning, Moody’s commented:
“Despite the recent improvement in market sentiment, as suggested by recent bond sales and the appreciation of the Brazilian real against the dollar, Brazil is still grappling with a range of problems. Slowing investment, rising household debt, accelerating inflation and high unemployment are all weighing on the economy … some of the export-related sectors that benefited from Brazil’s depreciating real currency in 2015, such as protein, and pulp and paper, will not enjoy the same tailwinds from a declining currency …”
PBR ended the day down 7%.
SolarCity Corp (SCTY)
Last but not least, considering SolarCity was officially named a target acquisition by Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Monday morning (pending a better offer by Sep. 14), one would think SCTY shares would be firmly higher today. They weren’t though.
Knowing the deal was questionable at best, Tesla CEO Elon Musk submitted what most SCTY shareholders considered a weak offer of $2.6 billion … $300 million less than June’s offer, or about $25.37 per share.
Accelerating the selloff was SolarCity’s lowered installation guidance for 2016. Instead of the initial estimates of 1,000 megawatts to 1,100 MW worth of anticipated installations this year, now the company only sees rooftop installations of between 900 MW and 1,000 MW.
SCTY shares fell 7.4% on the tepid Tesla offer and lowered full-year guidance.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
