Why These Stocks Are Tumbling Today

Reverting the trend seen in the past three days, stocks are trading down on Wednesday on disappointing corporate results and a falling dollar – and in spite of recuperating oil prices driven by falling U.S. stockpiles. Among today’s big decliners are Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS), Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL), and Laredo Petroleum Inc (NYSE:LPI). In this article, we will take a look into the events that have driven the fall of these stocks, and into how the iinvestors from our database feel about the companies in question.

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Wal-Mart Takes On Visa, Both Tumble

Back to the stocks that interest us, let’s start with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), whose stock is down more than 3.5%, amid reports that the company filed of a lawsuit against Visa Inc (NYSE:V). On Tuesday afternoon, the famed retailer said it had started a litigation process against the payments company for the right to decide how its customers verify their debit-card transactions at the counter. Wal-Mart alleges that Visa is preventing it from letting clients enter a PIN number when using chip-enabled cards, making them ask for a signature instead – which results in a higher fee paid to the card company and a less secure transaction.

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) saw 49 funds from our database with long positions in our database. Among them, Berkshire Hathaway; Warren Buffett’s firm, last declared holding 56.18 million shares of the company, valued at more than $3.44 billion.

Target Targeted By Conservative Group

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is also falling on Wednesday, and has lost roughly 5%. While some analysts have seen the decline as part of a wider trend – of weakness in the retail segment, others have attributed it to the “bathroom policy scandal.” The retailer recently adopted a new policy allowing both employees and customers to use bathrooms and fitting rooms that correspond to their gender identity, and this led several conservative groups to call for a boycott of the company. On Wednesday morning, Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell was on CNBC explaining what groups like the American Family Association are missing about Target’s inclusive restroom policy.

Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Columbus Circle Investors disclosed ownership of 2.35 million shares of Target as of March 31, 2016.

Fossil Plunges On Disappointing Results

Shares of Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL) are trading down by about 28% on Wednesday afternoon, driven by the announcement of poor first-quarter results and an even weaker second-quarter guidance. The fashion accessories company posted EPS of $0.12 on revenue of $659.8 million, missing the Street’s consensus by $0.03 and $6.8 million, respectively. Sales declined by 9% year-over-year, while the operating margin tumbled more than 71% to 2.2%. For the second quarter, management said it expects earnings of $0.00 to $0.15 per share, considerably lower than what analysts projected – $0.58 per share.

At the end of the fourth quarter, 22 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, held shares of Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ:FOSL), having amassed 12.6% of its total shares outstanding.

Michael Kors Also Suffering From Fossil Results

Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) was also impacted by Fossil’s (and Macy’s) poor results, since Kors’ brand represents roughly half of Fossil’s licensed business, which declined by doubled digits in the fiscal first quarter. Shares of Michael Kors are down by approximately 12% on Wednesday.

A total of 27 funds among those we track were long Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE:KORS) by the end of 2015. One firm that had disclosed a long stake in both Kors and Fossil as of December 31, was Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, which declared holding 2.77 million shares of Michael Kors and 158,550 shares of Fossil.

Investors Unhappy With Laredo’s Public Offering

Finally, there’s Laredo Petroleum Inc (NYSE:LPI), which has lost roughly 3.3%, following the announcement of a public offering of 9.5 million common shares of the company, “subject to market and other conditions.” The company said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to pay back debt acquired under its senior secured credit facility.

Laredo Petroleum Inc (NYSE:LPI) saw the number of supporters in our database decline by 10% over the fourth quarter to 18. However, John H. Scully’s SPO Advisory Corp maintained its stake, comprising 17.13 million shares or $136 million in stock.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.