Major benchmarks gained a lot of ground on Thursday, buoyed by enthusiasm about the prospects for China and the U.S. to engage in fruitful negotiations to resolve their trade disputes. That alone wasn't enough to dispel many of the concerns that investors have had recently, as a big bounce in yields on Treasury securities also allayed fears of a potential recession. Yet some individual companies had to deal with obstacles to their growth that caused their share prices to drop. Meredith (MDP), Livongo Health (LVGO), and First Majestic Silver (AG -1.02%) were among the worst performers. Here's why they did so poorly.
Meredith can't catch a break
Shares of Meredith plunged 23% even after the media company reported what seemed to be solid results in its fiscal fourth quarter. Revenue was down about 2% from the year-ago period, but earnings from continuing operations came close to doubling over the same time frame. Yet even with those numbers, investors had wanted to see a larger impact from the acquisition last year of magazine giant Time. Moreover, Meredith was downbeat about its future, projecting sales for the new fiscal year that were considerably below what most of those following the stock had anticipated. It'll take continued effort to get the most out of the Time assets that Meredith acquired and to concentrate on those likeliest to produce growth going forward.
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Livongo needs to get healthier
Livongo Health saw its stock drop 17% following its second-quarter financial report. At first glance, the company's numbers looked great, including a 156% gain in sales during the period and growth in membership counts of 140% compared to 12 months ago. Yet Livongo lost more money than it did a year ago. Several stock analysts weighed in with positive comments about the earnings release, but that wasn't enough to help hard-hit shareholders regain confidence in the health monitoring device specialist's prospects.
First Majestic loses its luster
Finally, shares of First Majestic Silver lost 9%. Today was a bad day for the silver market, as bullion prices fell nearly 5% to about $18.60 per ounce. Both gold and silver had seen huge gains recently, reacting positively as investors looked for safe havens in light of geopolitical tensions among key economic powers globally. The precious metals complex gave back some of those gains today, but First Majestic's shares have still almost doubled just since late May. If global economic concerns start weighing on investor sentiment again, then First Majestic could rebound.
