Three brokerages have trimmed their price targets in response
One of the worst stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Core Laboratories N.V. (NASDAQ:CLB). The oil name is down 20% to trade at $38.05, at last check, after the company trimmed its fourth-quarter estimates, its 2020 first-quarter forecast, and its quarterly dividend.
At least four brokerages have issued price-target cuts already, the lowest coming from Simmons Energy to $37 from $40. The analyst in coverage at J.P. Morgan Securities called the dividend cut a "significant acknowledgement," while Evercore said they don't see the decisions as an "existential issue."
CLB is drifting toward its Aug. 23 10-year low of $36.61. The shares have spent the last three months consolidating below the round $50 level, an area that coincides with their 180-day moving average. The equity is now set to end the year down 36%.
Core Laboratories' shorts sellers would be cheering today's drop, had the equity not just landed on the Short Sale Restricted (SSR) list. Although short interest fell 16% in the two most recent reporting periods, a healthy 7.1% of CLB's total available float is sold short, or 5.1 times the average daily trading volume.