5 of Last Week's Biggest Losers

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz | More Articles
May 23, 2011 | Comments (4)

Though the market closed out the month of April on a strong week, it still had room for plenty of losing stocks. Let's take a closer look at five of this past week's biggest sinkers:

Company	May 20	Weekly Loss	My Watchlist
SMART Technologies (Nasdaq: SMT )	$7.06	(28%)	Add
Country Style Cooking (NYSE: CCSC )	$12.42	(27%)	Add
Quantum Fuel Systems (Nasdaq: QTWW )	$3.79	(26%)	Add
TravelCenters of America (AMEX: TA )	$5.86	(26%)	Add
Yongye International (Nasdaq: YONG )	$3.72	(22%)	Add

Source: Barron's.

SMART shares got wiped clean after the maker of digital whiteboards flunked out in its latest quarter. SMART barely managed a profit, though analysts banked on earnings of $0.08 a share. Whiteboards are obvious classroom upgrades, but cash-strapped schools probably won't make any such high-tech upgrades until their budgetary storm clouds pass.

Country Style Cooking Restaurant Chain was sent back to the kitchen after posting disappointing quarterly results. Margins shrank as costs grew out of control for the China-based eatery. Is CSC's management up to the task of growing the 140-unit chain in a cost-effective manner? The Sichuan cuisine specialist announced last week that it was bringing on a former head of training and operational development for North Asia from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD ) .

Easy come, easy go for Quantum. Shares of Quantum nearly doubled two weeks ago after the company demoed a plug-in hybrid version of the popular F-150 pickup truck during a clean transportation expo earlier this month. Last week, it gave back some of those gains, though the stock still sits well above where it was two weeks ago.

TravelCenters of America blew a tire after proposing a secondary stock offering. Companies issue freshly minted stock all of the time, but TravelCenters of America's proposed 10 million-share offering is a big chunk of new equity for a company with less than 20 million shares currently outstanding.

Investors dumped shares of Yongye after the Chinese fertilizer specialist got smeared in an analyst report. Absaroka Capital claims that Yongye's a fraud, taking the company to task for its acquisitions, product claims, and management compensation. Despite Absaroka's relative obscurity, negative comments on small Chinese companies have been enough to shoo away believers in the past.

After these five stocks' rough week, let's see which ones bounce back in the days ahead.

Which of these five stocks do you think bottomed out last week? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

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The Motley Fool owns shares of Yongye International. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended Yongye International, Country Style Cooking, and McDonald's. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz enjoys cheering on winners and whispering words of encouragement to the losers. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story, except for CSC. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

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Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Report this Comment On May 23, 2011, at 11:46 AM, nanoguy wrote:

Yongye is almost a posterchild for Chinese micro-cap futures. Because of the complex organizational structure, the fact that it is a Nevada based reverse merger entry to U.S. markets, and the damaging news about certain other such offerings ... longs are very nervous and the shorts are cleaning up.
But what if Yongye leaders represent the best of the emerging PRC entrepreneurs? What if in such a socio-economic environment, they really do seek to establish better farming practices, create jobs, and help build a better business climate? What if they are honest, hard-working, intelligent folks who are trying their best and believe in what they are doing?
The announced invitation on or about June 8-9 to visit the facilities in June and talk face-to-face with the principals certainly should go a long way toward helping establish that relationship of trust with the investment community.
Considering the importance of this company to the future of PRC micro and small caps in general, reviewers and major investors who follow this market should definitely make plans to be there. Don't forget that RSVPs are due June 1.
Report this Comment On May 23, 2011, at 1:33 PM, anopenmind wrote:

Since we can not depend on Seeking Alpha to have a staff member attend the Yong June 8-9 event, tour their facilities and visit retailers of Yong product, would be great if Motley Fool would send someone. Did not Motley Fool visit Yong in 2008 & 2010?
Yong must have a lot of proud positive truths to reiterate with analysts and stockholders. "Too good to be true?" I doubt they'd be doing their "ya'll come", if that was the case.
Zero credibility for past, present, and futuer bashers who do not attend the June Event.
Report this Comment On May 23, 2011, at 3:30 PM, nanoguy wrote:

Agree with idea that Motley Fool should have a credible physical presence there! With MF reviewing some of these Chinese micro caps, and adding some to their portfolio recommendations, MF premium service subscribers should watch very closely to see how much due care MF itself is willing to exercise on behalf of its members.
Report this Comment On May 25, 2011, at 11:34 AM, LeKitKat wrote:

plant tours and coal field hikes are great
Will they be able to also look at the books?

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