Why Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Went Down On Friday?

We recently published a list of Friday’s 10 Worst Performing Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stands against other Friday’s worst performing stocks.

Wall Street’s main indices bounced back on Friday, erasing the entire week’s losses, as investor hopes were fueled by news that no government shutdown is happening.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped the highest on Friday, adding 2.61 percent, followed by the S&P 500 with a 2.13-percent gain, and the Dow Jones with 1.65 percent.

Ten companies, on the other hand, bucked an overall market optimism, posting modest losses during the day.

In this article, we have named the day’s worst performers and detailed the reasons behind their drop.

To come up with the list, we only considered those with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.

An operating room with a doctor monitoring a patient’s vital signs during surgery with a medical device.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories declined for a fourth consecutive day on Friday, losing 2.45 percent to close at $126.71 apiece amid the pessimistic broader market that was further aggravated by news of a new trial over premature infant formula.

On Thursday, a Missouri judge ordered ABT and Reckitt Benckiser unit Mead Johnson to face another round of trials over allegations that they failed to warn a mother about the risks of their specialized baby formulas for premature infants.

The ruling came months after a court sided with the two firms, saying that they were not responsible for a young boy’s debilitating intestinal disease.

Commenting on the reopened trial, ABT and Reckitt said that they would appeal the decision.

“We are disappointed by the court’s extraordinary decision to set aside the jury’s work,” said ABT spokesperson Scott Stoffel.

Overall, ABT ranks 8th on our list of Friday’s worst performing stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of ABT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as ABT but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.