Why Did My Stock Just Die? NII Holdings, Inc. (NIHD), Arch Coal Inc (ACI)

The country’s demographics are in its favor because it has relatively low penetration rates when it comes to Internet users, so it’s natural to think they’ll turn to Baidu for search as more people go online. And while it experienced a 42% jump in revenues in the fourth quarter that generated a 24% rise in operating profits, it’s still below what analysts are forecasting for the long term even if they were ahead of quarterly expectations. But it was Baidu’s guidance for the first quarter that scared investors as the midpoint came in below Wall Street’s consensus.

The search giant’s shares are down 13% since I questioned whether it was worth more than $100, and I’ll admit they’re far more attractive now than they were almost a month ago, but I’d like to see a little more of a discount before I move in.

Hanging up on growth
NII Holdings is another company I’ve expressed misgivings about, believing the Brazilian wireless communications operator would find it difficult going up against larger, better-financed rivals. The Brazilian market is a veritable United Nations of telecom companies, but they tend to represent the biggest ones in their respective markets: Spain’s Telefonica S.A. (NYSE:TEF), Italy’s Telecom Italia S.p.A. (NYSE:TI), and Mexico’s America Movil SAB de CV (NYSE:AMX). Although NII is representing Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S)‘s Nextel brand south of the border, it holds just a tiny sliver of market share, and it offered guidance that suggests it’s going to get narrower.

The wireless operator said it expected 2013 revenues will hit $5.7 billion to $5.9 billion, which came in short of the $6.1 billion Wall Street anticipated. Despite plans to acquire privately held Unicel do Brasil Telecomunicacoes to help expand capacity, I don’t see it moving the needle much and plan on maintaining my underperform rating of NII on Motley Fool CAPS. Let me know in the comments box below whether you think the Nextel brand could still be the next big thing in South America.

The article Why Did My Stock Just Die? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rich Duprey.

Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Baidu and Sohu.com and owns shares of Baidu.

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