Anheuser-Busch InBev (DOG)
BUD - NYSE
It’s official: America has lost its mind. In April, rapper Kid Rock – apparently upset that Bud Light had featured a trans influencer in a social-media campaign – grabbed an automatic weapon and blasted away at cases of the beer. The singer’s stunt triggered a boycott of the brand, causing sales to plunge by double digits. Now, with cases of Bud Light piling up at stores, shares of parent Anheuser-Busch are sinking as analysts warn that its U.S. earnings will take a hit. “We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note. Bartender, another round of Kool-Aid.
U-Haul Holding (DOG)
UHAL - NYSE
Bad: Driving down the highway and noticing that the U-Haul trailer you were pulling is no longer there. Also bad: Investing in U-Haul Holding and noticing that your money is no longer there. Shares of the do-it-yourself moving company sank after its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell by more than half, hurt by a slowdown in moving activity. Adding to investors’ pain, demand for self-storage units is “not as hot as 24 months ago, but we are still building and filling new units,” said Joe Shoen, chairman of U-Haul. Investors are moving on.
Advance Auto Parts (DOG)
AAP - NYSE
Think getting your car repaired is costly? It’s nothing compared with owning shares of Advance Auto Parts. In the worst single-day drop since the company went public in 2001, shares of the auto-parts retailer plummeted 35 per cent after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates by a wide margin, cut its full-year guidance and slashed its dividend by 83 per cent. The company cited a litany of reasons for the results, including inflationary product and labour costs, supply chain headwinds and intense price competition in sales to professionals. With the stock sinking to its lowest level in more than 10 years, investors must be blowing a gasket.
Superior Plus (DOG)
SPB - TSX
Test your business knowledge! Shares of Superior Plus, which distributes propane and other fuels, fell after: a) a gas storage facility in British Columbia exploded while a worker was using a blowtorch to remove graffiti from one of the tanks; b) forecasts for a once-in-a-century heat wave lasting through next fall and winter prompted analysts to slash their demand estimates for heating fuels; c) the company agreed to sell eight propane-distribution hubs in Northern Ontario at the request of the Competition Bureau, which said Superior’s $1.05-billion acquisition of Calgary-based Certarus Ltd. “would likely result in a substantial lessening of competition” in the region. Answer: c
Reunion Neuroscience (STAR)
REUN - TSX
The good news is that shares of Toronto-based Reunion Neuroscience surged after U.S. biotech investment firm MPM BioImpact agreed to acquire the company, which is developing a proprietary psychedelic compound for the treatment of postpartum depression. The bad news? MPM is paying the equivalent of about $17.8-million or $1.52 in cash – a small fraction of the more than $40 that Reunion’s shares fetched as recently as 2021. Biotech investing too volatile for you? Buy a guaranteed investment certificate.