2 O.C. Stocks Among Worst Losers in Market Free Fall
Dozens of Orange County stocks took a beating Thursday, caught up in the turmoil of the overall financial markets.
Of the 147 companies in The Times index of Orange County stocks, 105 saw the value of their shares decline. Overall, the index slumped 4.3% to 155.72, its lowest level in more than a year.
The retreat was inevitable, given the stock market’s free fall, one local broker said.
“It’s really a worldwide event,” said broker Jack West with Cruttenden Roth Inc. in Irvine. Many local companies are particularly vulnerable to such massive market swings because they are small, he noted.
Indeed, two Orange County stocks ranked among the top three percentage losers in all U.S. markets.
Internet retailer Shopping.com’s shares plummeted more than 60% after the struggling company’s underwriter and biggest market maker stopped trading its stock.
Shopping.com, which sells a variety of products over the global computer network, fell $8.88 to $5.75, making the Corona del Mar company the biggest percentage decliner in U.S. markets.
Comprehensive Care Corp.’s stock lost 44% of its value, the third biggest percentage loss in U.S. markets.
Chriss Street, chief executive, said he was puzzled by the slump. The Corona del Mar company, which administers and operates behavioral-care programs reported Thursday that it earned $1.1 million, or 28 cents a share, for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $1.1 million, or 35 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 2% to $11.6 million from $11.4 million.
But the stock dropped $3.31 a share to $5.
Several other local health care stocks also absorbed double-digit percentage losses Thursday.
Drug maker ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. slumped nearly 15% to a 52-week low of $17.56 a share, continuing a slide that began a week ago. Analysts said the turmoil in Russia, one of the Costa Mesa company’s largest markets, contributed to the slump.
The stock has lost more than a third of its value since Aug. 19.
For beleaguered Shopping.com, the huge sell-off Thursday was but the latest in a series of market declines amid a spate of bearish news.
Shares of the company, which sells a variety of products over the Internet, have fallen more than 70% since Aug. 17.
Since March, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating possible stock manipulation by Shopping.com and Waldron & Co., which was the principal market maker in its shares. Waldron, which brought the Internet retailer public in November, isn’t trading the stock today.
“The stock is in a free fall. There are sellers out there and when Waldron is not out there to buy it, there is no one else to buy it,” said Sanford Dean Greenberg, chairman and chief executive of Chatfield Dean & Co., who rates the stock “sell.”
Waldron & Co. analyst Lynn Trepp confirmed that her firm has stopped trading Shopping.com shares. She declined to comment on any connection between her firm’s actions and the stock’s drop.
St. John Knits provided one of the few bright spots in the market, gaining more than 10%. The stock had been battered the previous day, falling 30% after the Irvine maker of upscale clothing said it expected to report disappointing earnings for the third quarter.
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Losers & Gainers
The five Orange County stocks that lost and gained the most in Thursday’s market drop:
Losers
1. Shopping.com: -60.6%
2. Comprehensive Care: -44.1
3. Quality Systems: -18.8
4. NeoTherapeutics Inc.: -16.7
5. ICN Pharmaceuticals: -14.8
Gainers
1. St. John Knits: +10.1%
2. Gish Biomedical: +9.1
3. ARV Assisted Living: +8.5
4. Hines Horticulture: +7.3
5. Bristol Retail: +5.6
Note: Includes stocks trading for more than $2 a share.
Source: Bloomberg News; Researched by JANICE JONES DODDS/Los Angeles Times
Orange County Ups and Downs
After reaching an all-time high of 198.78 on July 20, the Bloomberg Orange County stock index fell Thursday to 155.72, its lowest level in more than a year. Recent weekly closing levels:
July
2 188.64
10 193.46
17 198.47
24 189.19
31 181.10
August
7 175.98
14 171.91
21 169.14
Thursday’s close: 155.72
Note: The Bloomberg Orange County Index is a weighted index designed to measure the performance of Orange County stocks trading on major exchanges.
Source: Bloomberg News; Researched by JANICE JONES DODDS / Los Angeles Times
