What Happened?
Shares of maritime transportation company Matson (NYSE:MATX) fell 5.6% in the morning session after an analyst at Jefferies downgraded the company from a "Buy" to a "Hold" and slashed the price target.
The price target was lowered to $115 from $135. The downgrade was prompted by a "whirlwind year" for container trade between China and the U.S., with significant volatility seen in the second quarter. Jefferies noted that after a slowdown in April and a partial recovery in May, shipping volumes and freight rates softened again in June and continued to do so in July, pointing to ongoing weakness. While the investment firm anticipated that Matson's second-quarter results would likely beat expectations, it forecasted a weaker third quarter, leading to the revised estimates and rating change. This more cautious outlook overshadowed other news, such as Matson's recent 5.9% increase in its quarterly dividend.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Matson? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Matson’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 9 months ago when the stock gained 16% on the news that the company reported decent third quarter earnings that blew past analysts' EBITDA expectations. Its EPS also outperformed Wall Street's estimates. On the other hand, its revenue missed. Still, we think this was a solid quarter.
Matson is down 23.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $105.20 per share, it is trading 37.1% below its 52-week high of $167.37 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Matson’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,892.
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