Why Are These Five Stocks Losing Ground Today?

Seeing as Brent prices recently hit lows not seen since 2004, and the crude market is perhaps 2 million barrels/day oversupplied, many investors hit the sell button on oil services company Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) today, as shares of the company retreated by 1.78% in afternoon trade. Further muddling the bull case is the news that the Department of Justice recently notified Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) that the two companies will need to make additional concessions to win the U.S. government’s approval on their merger. The U.S. government’s refusal to approve the Baker Hughes/Halliburton merger makes any merger between Weatherford International Plc (NYSE:WFT) and another oil service giant more problematic.

Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY) is another casualty in today’s WTI/Brent sell-off, as shares of the independent E&P are 15.4% lower in afternoon trading. Because the company is highly leveraged and isn’t profitable, Stone Energy Corporation (NYSE:SGY) will likely remain a high beta function of WTI price swings. Of the around 730 elite funds we track, 15 funds were long about 9.40% of the float, according to the latest round of 13F filings, with Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies owning 441,624 shares.

The bears in MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA) are in full force, as shares of the company have fallen by 32% because of a Seeking Alpha article calling for a 92.9% downside of the stock. In the bearish article, the author writes that an invesgiation shows MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ:MNGA)’s auditor was barred by the SEC for “falsified and backdated audit documents” and that company insiders have failed to file requisite SEC filings in a timely fashion. In addition, the author notes that Magnegas products are 30% slower and 26% more expensive than competitors’.

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