(By Mayur Pahilajani - iStockAnalyst Writer)
New York, NY - A good news may not cheer up every stock on Wall Street as a fresh set of shares tumbled and hit a new 52-week low on Thursday. The market analysts are speculating that the U.S. government's latest measure to curb short-selling on Wall Street may not be backed by every hedge funds or traders.
The latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's move is part of several coordinated actions to strengthen investor protections against "naked" short selling. The Commission's decision applies the securities of all public companies, including all companies in the financial sector.
Shares in the spotlight today are SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), Sony Corporation ADR (NYSE: SNE), Lloyds Tsb Group Plc (NYSE:LYG) and Vodafone (NYSE: VOD).
SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX):
The stock is having a bad day for the second trading session on Thursday, a day after the company announced that Merck & Co Inc (MRK) will discontinue a June 2007 license and research collaboration agreement. Merck's decision followed a completion of a strategic review of its business and product development segments. The pharmaceutical technologies provider said the move will cost the company additional payment of $9 million. Under the 2007 accord with Merck, SurModics had received $20 million as licensing fee and was going to receive an additional $288 million in development milestones and fees. Shares of SurModics fell by $8.99 or 22.99 percent to $30.12 at 10:18am ET, after it hit a new 52-week low at $28.05 from the previous $36.25.
Sony Corporation ADR (NYSE: SNE):
Amid deepening financial crisis, the world's second-largest manufacturer of consumer electronics shares were downgraded by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) on declining sales of its consumer products. Goldman Sachs cut its rating on Sony to "neutral" from "buy" in Asian markets, which is mainly based on its sales concenrs in the U.S. market. On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) had slashed rating on the company to "neutral" from "overweight." Both the rating agencies and brokers have lowered their per-share-price estimate and its annual operating profit forecast. Shares of the firm tumbled to five-year low in Japan by 9 percent. At 10:25am ET, the shares or the company were trading down by 1.28 percent or 41 cents to $31.59. It also hit a new 52-week low of $30.83 from $31.77 on Thursday.
Lloyds Tsb Group Plc (NYSE:LYG):
Lloyds TBS is likely to take over the U.K.'s biggest mortgage lender, HBOS PLC (LSE: HBOS), for around 12.2 billion pounds ($22.2 billion) or for 232 pence a share in stock. If the merger is approved lead the creation of a lending giant with 130,000 employees. The companies together will be managing just under one-third of the U.K.'s total mortgage market. As the investors started cashing in on the news, the market analysts speculated that the merger between the companies will be profitable over the longer term. The takeover is likely to occur as no firm could reject the possibility of dominating the country's mortgage market. Investors on Wall Street were not happy over the uncertainty of the merger. Shares of the firm at 9:38am ET was trading down by 0.26 percent or $0.05 to $19.06. Its stocks hit a new 52-week low of $18.01 from previous $18.75.
Vodafone (NYSE: VOD):
Vodafone, which is has a joint venture in the United States with Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) creating Verizon Wireless, has consistently invested in expanding its network and to add more number of subscribers. The company has reportedly invested more than $45 billion since it was formed to raise the coverage and capacity of its national network. The firm hit a new 52-week low of $21.78 from its previous low of $21.85. Shares of the Basking Ridge, N.J.-based firm recovered and traded at 0.59 percent or 13 cents higher to $22.14 on Thursday at 10:59am ET.
