Wall Street had a big celebration on Monday, with major benchmarks soaring after signs out of the G-20 meeting in Japan suggested that a favorable resolution to the trade dispute between the U.S. and China might be more likely. Gains of more than 1% came early in the morning, although the market gave up some of that ground as the session progressed. Some stocks missed out entirely on the rally, however, finishing lower in the wake of discouraging news. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX +2.14%), Coty (COTY +3.83%), and Adaptive Biotechnologies (ADPT 4.55%) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
Freeport gets tarnished
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan lost 1.5% after having been down much more sharply earlier in the session, as the copper, gold, and energy producer cut its outlook for the second quarter. The company said that lower gold production will weigh on its results, as well as relatively low copper prices. At the same time, Freeport now expects its cash costs to be higher than anticipated, largely due to lower volume produced from its Indonesian operations. To some extent, these factors are more a matter of timing than of permanent losses of business, as Freeport hopes that these reductions in gold and copper sales will merely get deferred to later periods. Investors will get a better look at what's happening at Freeport-McMoRan when it releases its full financial results on July 24.
Image source: Freeport-McMoRan.
Coty makes a big move
Coty saw its stock fall 13.5% following the beauty product manufacturer's decision to restructure its operations. The company said it would write down roughly $3 billion in asset impairment charges on businesses that it bought from consumer products giant Procter & Gamble three years ago, with anticipated one-time cash costs of $600 million tied to the restructuring efforts. Coty hopes that by making the move, it can rediscover a pathway to future growth and become a leader in operational efficiency. Yet with e-commerce starting to eat into sales of beauty products, Coty could find itself facing a bigger challenge than it expects.
Adaptive gives back some ground
Finally, shares of Adaptive Biotechnologies plunged 17%. The life-sciences research company just had its initial public offering last week, and its stock soared from its pre-market pricing of $20 per share to double on its first day. Further gains ensued as investors jumped onto the bandwagon, and many of those following Adaptive have high hopes that its strategy of focusing on immune system genetic solutions will pay off with promising treatments. However, after such a huge post-IPO run-up, a slight pause is natural. Adaptive isn't the only successful biotech IPO this year, but it has promise to become a bigger player over the long run.
