Wednesday was a turbulent day for the stock market, with most stocks performing quite well until the Federal Reserve announced that it would raise short-term interest rates. After that, major benchmarks went their separate ways, with the Nasdaq falling almost half a percent but the S&P 500 finishing down more modestly. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrials climbed further into record territory, bucking the overall market's more bearish trend. Some of the negative sentiment on Wall Street came from company-specific news, and Hawaiian Holdings (HA -1.96%), Whiting Petroleum (WLL), and Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR -0.47%) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.
Hawaiian faces new competition
Shares of Hawaiian Holdings dropped 11% after investors learned that the airline will face increased competition on some of its most lucrative routes. United Continental (UAL 5.50%) said that it would increase the number of flights it offers to Hawaii, with more flights on 11 routes that include United hubs Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. In response, stock analysts at Stifel cut their rating on Hawaiian from hold to sell, and they reduced their price target on the airline from $60 per share to $40. Hawaiian has had a lucrative hold on the market to the 50th U.S. state, but competitive pressures throughout the airline industry have been rising lately. Looking forward, Hawaiian will have to work harder to sustain its value proposition to customers, and that could lead to headwinds for growth and profitability going forward.
Image source: Hawaiian Holdings.
Whiting deals with a tough oil market
Whiting Petroleum stock dropped more than 12% in response to unfavorable conditions in the energy market. Crude oil prices fell back below $45 per barrel on Wednesday, again following unexpectedly bearish figures on inventories. Many blame increased production from companies like Whiting for the downward movement in crude prices, as the recovery from below $30 to more than $50 per barrel during 2016 spurred the exploration and production company to boost its capital spending budget dramatically for this year. Stocks throughout the energy sector took a hit today, but Whiting in particular has greater exposure to changing oil prices because of its status as a shale-oriented producer. If oil doesn't recover soon, then Whiting could face serious problems once again going forward.
Synchronoss gets more bad news
Finally, shares of Synchronoss Technologies finished down 7%. The cloud-computing software specialist said that it has completed a review of its financial statements over the past couple of years, and the audit committee of its board of directors has decided that the company will have to restate its financials for 2015 and 2016. Investors have been waiting for news from Synchronoss for quite a while, with the company seeing executive departures in recent months and delaying the release of its first-quarter financial results for 2017. Although Synchronoss tried to characterize the impact of the restatement as minimal, investors have grown increasingly impatient. With no guidance on when to expect good numbers going forward, Synchronoss shareholders will have to wait even longer.
