Amec Foster Wheeler’s Steep Fall Pushed Down Energy Sector, EWU
SPY Falls before Jobs Report: Amec Foster Wheeler Takes EWU Lower
Healthcare stocks
AstraZeneca (AZN) stock rose after the drug company raised its outlook for sales revenues and earnings for the year. The company had already reported a better-than-expected earnings result for the third quarter. Peer companies Shire (SHPG), Smith & Nephew (SNN), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) yielded 0.6%, -0.2%, and -0.2%, respectively, on November 5. Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) rose a huge 13.2% on the day.
The following graph illustrates the stock performances of AstraZeneca (AZN) and Shire (SHPG) since the beginning of October.
AstraZeneca (AZN) traded at 4,247, well above its respective 100-day, 50-day, and 20-day moving averages. The analyst stock price target is set at 4,948.4, showing further upward potential. The stock has earned 20 “buy,” ten “hold,” and seven “sell” recommendations. Standard & Poor’s has rated the stock an A+. Moody has a “stable” outlook for the security.
Stocks at the bottom of EWU as of November 5 were Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW), Petrofac (PFC), and Anglo American (AAL). These stocks yielded -23.2%, -8.5%, and -7.7%, respectively, on the day.
Amec Foster Wheeler’s Steep Fall
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) declared it will halve its dividends due to the fall in oil prices. Because of the price slump, its trailing 5-day and trailing one-month returns were -20.1% and -28.3%, respectively, as of November 5.
While low oil and commodity prices drove the basic materials sector down, the only companies to gain on November 5 were Transocean Partners (RIGP) and VTTI Energy Partners (VTTI), which rose 3.1% and 0.1%, respectively, on the day.
BP (BP) and Barclays (BCS) fell 2.2% and 1.8%, respectively, as the stocks went ex-dividend on Wednesday, November 4.
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