Wall Street was in a great mood on Thursday, as favorable news on multiple fronts sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its first record close in eight months. Major benchmarks were generally up 1% after market participants responded to strong economic data on jobless claims, and rising optimism about the potential for a peaceful solution to the tariff-laden trade environment helped many Dow components disproportionately. However, some companies still had to deal with individual challenges that kept them from joining the rally. Stitch Fix (SFIX +2.91%), Nordstrom (JWN +0.00%), and Tilray (TLRY +0.00%) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.
Stitch Fix comes apart
Shares of Stitch Fix fell nearly 12% after receiving some negative comments from stock analysts. Piper Jaffray cut its rating on the stock from overweight to neutral, largely on fears that competition from e-commerce competitors as well as the prospects for a consumer-led slowdown in the U.S. economy could combine to hurt the successful clothing-delivery service. Oddly, Piper Jaffray also boosted its share-price target on Stitch Fix by nearly half to $43 per share, but even that call resulted in the decline that the stock suffered today. It's too early to tell how big a threat Stitch Fix faces, but investors who were burned by similar experiences in the meal-kit delivery arena could fear that Stitch Fix may suffer the same fate.
Image source: Stitch Fix.
Nordstrom gives back some ground
Nordstrom stock dropped 5%, retreating further from some of its big gains over the last month. The high-end department store retail giant posted an impressive 20% rise in August, led by solid growth in comparable-store sales and upgraded forecasts for the remainder of the fiscal year. Yet as the key holiday season approaches, investors in retail appear to be having second thoughts about whether the entire industry will recover equally from tough conditions over the past few years. Nordstrom has the upper hand in areas like customer service and loyalty, but even those positive attributes are no guarantee that the retailer will be able to produce the results shareholders expect.
Tilray's wild ride continues
Finally, Tilray plunged 17.5%. The marijuana producer has seen dramatic moves in both directions recently, including a wild swing on Wednesday that involved the stock nearly doubling at midday and then giving back all of its gains before bouncing back to a more modest rise. The small number of shares available for traders to buy and sell is contributing to extreme volatility in Tilray's share price, and bullish investors are optimistic that the company will attract companies looking to make lucrative partnerships in the marijuana space. At current valuations, though, it'll take a lot for would-be suitors to take an interest in Tilray, and that might be one reason for today's declines.
