Bad days. We all have them; some of us deserve them. Here are five stocks whose naughty ways drew investors' scorn on Tuesday:
|
Company
|
Closing Price
|
CAPS Rating (5 Max)
|
% Change
|
52-Week Range
|
|
comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR)
|
$21.45
|
***
|
(22.54%)
|
$17.31-$42.00
|
|
Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM)
|
$2.91
|
**
|
(15.65%)
|
$1.90-$15.69
|
|
Grubb & Ellis (NYSE: GBE)
|
$4.49
|
**
|
(10.02%)
|
$3.80-$12.15
|
|
RH Donnelley (NYSE: RHD)
|
$3.23
|
*
|
(9.52%)
|
$3.19-$78.10
|
|
Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq: HOKU)
|
$5.52
|
*
|
(8.76%)
|
$5.50-$14.88
|
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Finance, Motley Fool CAPS as of 6/24/08.
Naughty?
Well, OK, we can't exactly call these stocks naughty. There are days when five-star winners and newsletter recommendations appear here. Today isn't one of those days.
But, if you're an investor, you'll have plenty of bad days. The trick is to avoid dating -- or, worse, marrying -- your losers. That's why I listen when our 110,000-person-strong Motley Fool CAPS community of stock pickers speaks with a poor rating or a negative pitch. You should listen, too.
Thus, here is today's list of the worst stocks in the world.
Worse
We begin with Grubb & Ellis, which lost a key executive yesterday. According to the company's press announcement, "Grubb & Ellis Company ... announced today that Robert H. Osbrink, Executive Vice President and Chairman of Transaction Services, has left the Company effective immediately. [Emphasis added.]
No reason given. No lead-time. It'd be alarmist to suggest dirty dealings, so I won't. But I've never seen a sudden resignation augur excellent returns for shareholders.
Worser
Next up is R.H. Donnelley, a former guest in this column for a not-so-artful dividend dodge. On Monday, the company said it would exchange $761.9 million in old debt for $412.9 million -- which I calculate to be $419.2 million -- in new debt.
It's a great short-term deal for shareholders. Most R.H. Donnelley bondholders will receive $0.70 or less for every dollar of debt they hold.
Of course, there's a catch that makes this deal far less attractive over the long haul. R.H. Donnelley's new notes offer 11.75% in annual interest, well above the 6.875% to 8.875% it was paying. Says something about the company's credit quality, doesn't it?
Worst
But our winner is Virgin Mobile, which fired another salvo in what appears to be a margin-crushing price war among mobile-service providers.
Virgin says it will offer unlimited calls on its network for $79.99 a month, a rate that undercuts by $20 the unlimited-calling plans that Verizon (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T), and T-Mobile introduced in February.
Virgin and its scorched-earth mobile marketing plan ... Tuesday's worst stock in the CAPS world.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think by signing up for CAPS today. It's 100% free to participate.
I'll be back tomorrow with more stock horror stories.
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