Terms beyond that — including financial considerations — were not disclosed, but one would think that Microsoft would have thought this through before a worldwide service launch. There’s no indication as to what Microsoft will rename the service, but here’s some free legal advice for Mr. Softy: Dropbox is already taken.
4. 4 sight
American Homes 4 Rent went public on Thursday. It’s the second largest player in the market of companies that buy distressed properties, spruce them up, and rent them out.
This is the third company with this model to go public in the past eight months, and it’s probably not a good sign that the first two fell below their original IPO prices. It wasn’t a shock to see American Homes 4 Rent price at the low end of its expected range when it hit the market at $16.
Why is this debutante making the cut? Well, American Homes 4 Rent does have seasoned management, but it just got into this business two years ago. Do you remember the housing market two years ago? There were a lot of bargains to be had. It’s a different story now as home prices have risen dramatically. Two years ago, it was easy to find find properties trading below replacement cost, something that American Homes 4 Rent mentions several times in its prospectus.
Raising money now won’t buy the same kind of deals it got when it started.
It wasn’t a surprise to see the stock close its first day of trading yesterday at $15.60, below its IPO price.
5. Penney for your thoughts
Shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) tumbled during the last hour of trading on Wednesday after a New York Post article claimed that commercial-lending giant CIT had scaled back deliveries from the smaller supplier on credit risk concerns.
It’s easy to see why this could be problematic. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) refuted the claims, arguing that it has ample liquidity and “the support of all of its key vendors.”
The Post didn’t back down, calling it a “non-denial denial,” because JCPenney only addressed key vendors and not the small suppliers that the report was alluding to originally.
It’s a messy situation, even if the story doesn’t hold up. Some analysts aren’t taking any chances. Citi downgraded the troubled retailer on Thursday, slashing its price target from $20, to $11.
The article This Week’s 5 Dumbest Stock Moves originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rick Munarriz.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Coach. The Motley Fool owns shares of Coach and Microsoft.
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