Why Ceradyne's Shares Dropped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Ceradyne (Nasdaq: CRDN  ) fell as much as 10% today after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue fell 10% from a year ago to $130.6 million, even lower than the decline to $132.1 million analysts had expected. Net income was $6.8 million, just over one-third what it was a year ago, and the $0.28 per share in earnings was $0.06 below estimates.

Now what: Ceradyne's revenue and profits are heading in the wrong direction, making even its 7.9 trailing P/E ratio fail to look like a value. Management is expecting results to be similar to what it reported in the first half of the year unless solar or defense picks up. With the economy in the rough shape it is, there are better bets than a company that has declining earnings and relies on two industries under heavy cost pressure right now. I'll pass on the sale today.

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