Ten stocks have already lost their steam days before capping off the year, mirroring a mostly pessimistic and muted trading in the broader market.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq dropped by 0.24 percent, the Dow Jones declined by 0.20 percent, and the S&P 500 fell by 0.14 percent.
Indices aside, we name the 10 worst-performing companies on Tuesday and detail the reasons behind their drop.
To come up with the list, we focused on the stocks with more than $300 million in market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
Stock market data. Photo by Alesia Kozik on Pexels
10. ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ:ISP)
ASP Isotopes extended its losing streak to a third day on Tuesday, shedding 5.08 percent to close at $5.42 apiece as investors mirrored a key executive’s disposition of a significant stake in the company.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ:ISP) said that its chief finance officer, Heather Kiessling, disposed of 80,000 shares at a weighted average price of $5.798 apiece on December 18.
The executive did not divulge the reason for the sale, which left her with a remaining 732,500 shares.
Further adding to the sentiment was the lack of fresh developments to boost buying.
In its latest announcement earlier this month, ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ:ISP) said that it successfully obtained all regulatory approval for its planned acquisition of Renergen Ltd. in an all-stock deal.
Under the agreement, ASP Isotopes Inc. (NASDAQ:ISP) would pay Renergen shareholders 0.09196 new ASP Isotopes shares for each unit they own.
Renergen is a public company engaged in the production of liquefied helium (LHe) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and is funded by the United States government, given helium’s strategic significance.
The two parties believed that their merger would create a global leader in the production of critical and strategically important materials, including electronic gases such as helium, various fluorinated products, and isotopically enriched gases.
9. New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE)
New Fortress dropped for a second day on Tuesday, shedding 5.17 percent to close at $1.10 apiece amid lingering concerns over its financial standing, further dampened by a credit rating downgrade from S&P Global Ratings.
Earlier this month, New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) announced that it has extended its forbearance agreement with holders of its new senior secured notes due 2029 from December 15, 2025 to January 9, 2026 ahead of the completion of its restructuring with its stakeholders.
Following the news, S&P Global Ratings lowered its credit rating for New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) to ‘SD,’ as well as its senior secured term loan B due 2028 to ‘D’ from both CCC-.
An SD (Selective Default) rating means that New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE) has failed to meet its specific financial obligations but is expected to continue meeting its commitments, while a CCC means that a company is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.
“We believe the company will take the next several weeks during the forbearance period to negotiate with its other lenders on an amenable solution to restructure all debt across its capital structure. In our view, it’s highly likely that the outcome of these negotiations will either constitute a conventional default or a selective default under our criteria,” S&P Global Ratings said.
“We will reevaluate our ratings on NFE as significant developments related to the capital structure arise or upon the announcement of a more comprehensive debt-restructuring plan,” it added.
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