Wall Street couldn't have been much gloomier yesterday, as global markets fell following a Chinese sell-off sparked by concerns about rising rates in U.S. and China. Investors forgot all about those fears today. The willful amnesia resulted from a variety of impressive data Tuesday, ranging from increasing durable goods orders, to a robust real estate market, to improving consumer confidence. The S&P 500 Index (^GSPC +0.62%) managed to add 14 points, or 1%, ending the day at 1,588. But, contrary to the popular phrase, a rising tide does not lift all boats, and three stocks in particular had a rough day of it Tuesday.
The biggest laggard of the day, stock in the drugstore Walgreen (WAG +0.00%), cratered 5.9%, even after profits rose 16% from the comparable quarter last year. Today's slide is just another example of how businesses that are growing at healthy clips can still see their stock prices crumble if growth isn't strong enough to meet expectations. Walgreen certainly shows all the signs of a mature business at this stage -- revenue rose just 3%, coming in at $18.31 billion in the quarter, $90 million below what analysts were looking for.
Boston Scientific (BSX 0.86%) found itself as another notable decliner today, with shares slipping 2%. Health-care stocks were, as a sector, the worst performers in the entire market today, so shareholders can cite that as a major culprit behind today's fall. A more important catalyst behind today's move, however, might simply be the business itself. Though the stock has sported 58% gains so far this year, those outsized returns are a little befuddling, considering the medical device company lost $4 billion last year.
Lastly, Netflix (NFLX 0.71%) slumped 1.3%, as Bernstein Research downgraded the stock. The downgrade wasn't because of any fundamental issues with the business, but rather a direct result of overhyped expectations for its future performance, according to the firm. On top of that, competition in the streaming market is heating up, as Discovery Communications announced its intention to offer online -- for a fee, of course -- documentaries and reality shows that are between three and 18 months old for subscribers to its cable channel.
