Why Sanderson Farms, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, and Criteo Slumped Today

Wall Street finally gave up some ground on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrials finished down more than 75 points. Major benchmarks generally posted modest losses of half a percent or less as investors continued to get pulled in both directions by political wrangling in Washington. Tax reform now appears to have a path to full approval, but at least a few lawmakers voiced their dissent for certain provisions that made it into the final compromise proposal. Moreover, some bad news from individual companies spoiled the market's previously positive tone. Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ: SAFM), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX), and Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

Shares of Sanderson Farms fell 13% after the meat producer reported its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results. The producer of chicken and other meats said that sales climbed 16% from the year-ago quarter, but net income fell slightly over the same period. CEO Joe Sanderson Jr. said that the quarter marked "the end of another record year for Sanderson Farms" but that hurricane disruptions made a typical seasonal decrease in demand worse. The CEO also noted that some of its customers have told the company that traffic is down because of NFL player demonstrations, although competitors' substitutes for traditional chicken wings could also be having an impact on overall performance.

Image source: Sanderson Farms.

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Source: Fool.com