A duo of downgrades of BankUnited Financial Corp. sent shares of the regional bank tumbling nearly a third, making it the biggest decliner on the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index on Wednesday.
The S&P 600 _ which tracks stocks with a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion _ fell 2.62 points to 386.60.
Small-cap companies make up about 3 percent of the total U.S. securities market, but are often cited as good investments due to their low valuations and potential to grow into big-cap stocks.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Mac Hodgson downgraded BankUnited to "Neutral" from "Buy" in a client note, while Friedman, Billings, Ramsey's Paul Miller Jr. cut the stock to "Underperform" from "Market Perform." Both analysts predicted the company would announce a stock offering at an upcoming shareholder meeting.
Shares of BankUnited plunged 99 cents, or 29.3 percent, to $2.39. The stock touched a multiyear low of $2.13 earlier in the session.
Sterling Financial Corp. shares lost 64 cents, or 10.3 percent, to $5.58 after hitting as low as $5.44, a trade not seen since 2001.
Fabricated metal products maker Valmont Industries Inc. gave up $9.70, or 8.1 percent, to $109.75.
Among the gainers, Panera Bread Co. jumped $3.37, or 7.4 percent, to $48.93 after the restaurant chain raised its second-quarter profit outlook and said it expects to pay significantly less for wheat in the first half of 2009.
La-Z-Boy Inc. added 41 cents, or 6 percent, to $7.25 a day after it posted a first-quarter loss but said it expects to return to profitability in 2009.
Shares of Omnicell Inc., which provides computer systems for health care facilities, gained 52 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $12.33.
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