Why Did My Stock Just Die?

Your stock just took a nosedive -- but don't panic. First, let's see whether it had good reason to fall. Sometimes, panic-fueled drops can make excellent buying opportunities. Here's the latest crop of cratered stocks that could provide a possibility for profit:

The decision by Standard & Poor's to revise the country's debt down from stable to negative rattled the markets. Of course, anyone who's been watching what's going on in Washington would know that the outlook was bleak to begin with. But stocks dropped 140 points yesterday, or 1.4%. So stocks that went down by even larger percentages are pretty big deals.

The devil's in the details
Unloading some of its assets helped Gramercy Capital earlier this year when it sold some real estate investments to SL Green (NYSE: SLG) to help put much-needed cash on its balance sheet. It also juiced the stock as it gave the commercial real estate finance and property investment company a new lease on life.

Yet it hasn't been able to make a fast enough turnaround and its lenders, including SL Green and Goldman Sachs, had to be approached for another extension. While it was granted, they also demanded Gramercy's realty segment be split up among them. This makes it probable that should Gramercy survive it will hardly thrive. It just needs to hustle now to be able to manage the properties and be allowed to collect a fee for the service.

Despite not being able to capitalize on the favorable conditions present in the market for a mortgage REIT, the CAPS community is still supportive, though the latest development may see that slip. That sentiment goes for Wall Street, too, where all six of the analysts following the REIT see it outperforming. Tell us what you think on the Gramercy Capital CAPS page.

Cracks in the foundation
Growing fleet sizes, falling ship valuations, and declining shipping rates have created some stark valuations on dry bulk shipping companies. The pressure on shipping stocks has depressed their stock prices and with everyone hating the sector, it just might be time to look for some prospects to sail ahead with.

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) trades 28% lower than it did a year ago, while Eagle Bulk Shipping (Nasdaq: EGLE) is down 37%. In fact, the entire CAPS dry bulk sector is down 13% in just the past month. But investors need to pick and choose carefully among the wreckage. Genco Shipping foundered on the shoals yesterday when Citigroup analysts downgraded the stock to a sell because of all the factors that have affected the sector. Genco's also being buffeted because it relies upon the spot market for its pricing rather than negotiated long-term contracts like those that buoy a number of its rivals.

In a rising market, spot prices can help a shipper grow profits faster, but it's a killer storm in a falling market.

CAPS member BuffettJunior1 foresaw the potential of a downgrade, noting that while Genco is a good company, it's not a great one:

For those of you thinking about buying this stock, I suggest you don't pay more than 3.50 to 4 per share for it. The company currently has 7.53 per share in cash so buying the stock at half its cash is a good and safe way to go. If you do buy, be prepared to hold on to it for the long term, that's the only way you can profit from this stock.

Add Genco Shipping to your watchlist and see whether it can ride out the storm.

Faulty logic
When you can supply parts for a huge, iconic product, you've paved the way for growth, in profits and in share price. Cirrus Logic seemed to have done just that by successfully wooing Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to accept its chips not only for its iPhone and iPod, but the iPad, too. How can you screw that up?

By producing faulty products. While we don't know who the customer was that received the bad chips -- and the Fool's Anders Bylund suspects it wasn't Apple since the timing of purchases and release dates doesn't match up -- Cirrus ended up burning itself by having to eat profits to make up a new supply.

If it was a temporary situation that has been corrected, the lower profit report which sent Cirrus' shares tumbling last week when it preannounced the shortfall, and then again yesterday when it proved it, should make the stock a better value to buy in at.

With 98% of the CAPS All-Stars who rated the chip maker marking it to outperform the broad market averages, it's apparent they think the tailcoat effect of Apple will pull it along still.

Tell us in the comments section below or on the Cirrus Logic CAPS page whether this passes your screen for a rebound.

Ready for a resurrection
Just because your stock has taken a beating doesn't mean it's going to roll over and die. Markets are known for overreacting. A closer look on Motley Fool CAPS at what's happened to your stock can give you an edge over other investors who just react to the market's lead. You can decide for yourself whether it's ready to come back from the dead.