Why Barnes & Noble, Rite Aid, and Juniper Networks Slumped Today
The stock market surged higher on Thursday, with major benchmarks setting records and the Dow soaring above the 24,000 mark for the first time. Fears that lawmakers in Congress wouldn't be able to come to consensus on proposed tax reform appear to have calmed, and investors are increasingly looking forward to the positive impact that lower corporate taxes could have on business profits and share prices. Yet even though the markets were up sharply, some stocks still missed out on the rally and lost ground. Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), and Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) 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.
Shares of Barnes & Noble sank 11.5% after the bookseller reported its fiscal second-quarter financial results. Revenue was down 8% on a 6% drop in comparable sales, and although some of the weakness was due to the year-earlier release of the latest book in the Harry Potter universe, sales of items other than books also fell significantly. The company intends to make a strategic shift to emphasize books more strongly, as well as looking at smaller store layouts and making cost-cutting measures, but investors still doubt whether the former book giant will be able to regain its past glory in an increasingly internet-dominated industry.
Image source: Barnes & Noble.
Source: Fool.com