Why HP, Booking Holdings and Novavax are slumped today – Motley's Fool

Thursday was a tough day on Wall Street, but declines in major market indices were relatively modest. the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished about 69 points, while the other indices did the same movement of lower percentage. Market participants did not react particularly strongly to general information, preferring to focus on the impacts on specific companies and their actions. HP (NYSE: HPQ), Booking Funds (NASDAQ: BKNG), and Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) were among the worst performers. Here's why they hurt so badly.

HP slips on sluggish sales

HP's shares fell 17% after the hardware company released its first-quarter financial results. The technology giant said its revenue was up only 1% from the same period last year, and that it needed a substantial drop in the number of shares in circulation for earnings per action increases by 8%. HP's personal systems unit has benefited from the assistance of the commercial sector and the printing sector has experienced some positive points in terms of print material sales. Still, HP's prospects were, at best, lukewarm and the fact that customers are turning to online trading sources for consumables such as printer ink may have an impact permanent negative on the long-term business prospects of the printer giant.

Booking guidance disappoints

Booking Holdings recorded an 11% decline in its share price following the release of its fourth quarter financial report. The online travel specialist posted impressive results for the period, including revenue growth of 15% and net gains of 25% over the previous year's levels. Still, what has caused panic among some investors is Booking's forecast for the first quarter of 2019, which included low expectations for revenue and gross travel bookings. The travel company has always provided advice that has proven to be inferior to potential results, but shareholders are not willing to bet on this situation that continues today.

Novavax misses goal

Finally, Novavax shares plunged by 67%. The vaccine manufacturer has announced that the results of the Phase 3 clinical trial of its ResVax vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus are mediocre, claiming that the vaccine did not achieve the primary goal of preventing a respiratory infection. medically significant lower levels resulting from the disease. Novavax's CEO, Stanley Erck, tried to save what he could from the trial, noting that "although this study does not meet the predefined success criterion for the primary endpoint of this clinical trial, the data indicates that ResVax protects infants from the serious consequences of RSV, including hospitalizations due to respiratory tract infections and cases of severe hypoxemia. Nevertheless, shareholders believe that this could make ResVax a non-starter for future sales and they have re-evaluated the valuation of the stock accordingly.

Dan Caplinger has no position in the mentioned actions. The Motley Fool owns shares and recommends Booking Holdings. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.