What: Shares of metals producer Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI -2.38%) plunged 14% in November as the steel market continued to decline.
So what: Early in the month Moody's downgraded the company's debt, citing the company's $91 million operating loss in the third quarter. Deteriorating market conditions will also likely continue as flat rolled products see lower demand and prices.
Weakness in energy, construction and mining show no sign of letting up and that could lead to worse results in 2016 than most investors expect. In the last 90 days, 2016 earnings estimates have fallen from $1.53 per share to $0.64 per share, a bad trend for any company.
Now what: This is another fallout from weakness in industrial markets around the world. China's slowdown doesn't help, but weak energy prices have reduced investment as well and demand overall is dropping like a rock. Until that trend turns around this isn't a stock I would bet on, but at this point no one knows when that turnaround might happen.
