What is Going on With These Five Falling Stocks?

After falling almost 1% in morning trading, the three indexes are trying to make a comeback of sorts. The Dow is off just 70 points, while the S&P is off 0.5%. Among the stocks performing worse than the three indexes are TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI), Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE), Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL), and Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG). In this article, we analyze why traders are selling these stocks and see what investors from our database think about these stocks.

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TETRA in the Red Due to Offering

TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) has commenced a public offering of around 10 million shares of common stock, along with granting underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 1.5 million shares. The company intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes and to repay outstanding indebtedness under its senior secured notes. Shares of the company, which are down by 13% on the news, have also faced pressure due to the declining crude prices today. At the end of March, 15 funds tracked by us owned shares of TETRA Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) at the end of March, down by three funds from the previous quarter.

Bellatrix Declines Due to Asset Purchase

Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE)’s shares have retreated by almost 9% today after the company agreed to acquire complementary producing assets from Grafton Energy Co. The assets produced an average of 2,000 boe/d net to Grafton in the month of May, with 79% of the weighted production being natural gas. The total value of the acquisition is $29.2 million and will be paid for on a cash-free basis through the issuance of 20,547,576 Bellatrix common shares. Separately, Bellatrix has said the acquisition is expected to have ‘a positive effect’ on the company’s borrowing base redetermination, which should occur on June 30. Among the funds we track, six investors owned $47.03 million worth of Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (NYSE:BXE)’s stock, which accounted for 24.20% of the float on March 31, versus 10 funds and $77.4 million, respectively, on December 31.

On the next page, we examine Nike, Whiting Petroleum Corp, and Transocean LTD.

Nike Retreats Due to Basketball Concerns

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)’s shares are 2% in the red due to the broader market weakness and concerns that the company’s cash-cow basketball business could experience more competition from Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA). Although Nike counts LeBron James as one of its endorsers, Under Armour has Stephen Curry under an endorsement contract. Curry is currently the star in perhaps the best team in NBA history and is several years younger than LeBron. Adding to the concerns is the unexpected step down of Michael Jackson, the head of Nike Global Basketball. The number of funds from our database with holdings in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) inched up by one quarter-over-quarter to 64 at the end of March.

Lower Crude Causes Energy Related Names To Decline

Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) and Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) are off by 7% and 5% respectively on the back of lower crude prices. After surging by over 80% from their February lows, some traders are taking profits and cutting back exposure to the commodity as supply comes back onto the marketplace from Canada and as Britain’s vote on leaving the EU rapidly approaches. If Britain leaves the EU, some traders worry that global demand for crude could take a hit and the current supply/demand imbalance could worsen. Given the potential effects, it’s not surprising that crude futures are off 3.5% today, with WTI trading around $46.30 per barrel. Whiting Petroleum and Transocean will both do worse if crude prices decline. Among the investors in our database, 43 funds had a long position in Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE:WLL) and 39 top funds were long Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) at the end of the first quarter.

Disclosure: none