13 Disastrous Stocks That Could Get Even Worse

Investors love a turnaround play, and Wall Street is littered with stories of fortunes made betting on troubled companies.

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Investors love a turnaround play, and Wall Street is littered with stories of fortunes made betting on troubled companies.

In the 1960s, American Express (AXP) was rumored to be near bankruptcy when Warren Buffett famously entered what is now one of his favorite Berkshire Hathaway positions. Apple (AAPL), which became the first U.S. company to hit $1 trillion in market value, absorbed more than a decade of losses during the 1980s and ‘90s before Steve Jobs helped turn the company around – aided by a $150 million investment from Microsoft (MSFT).

But while every beat-up stock is a potential turnaround play, not every company achieves that potential. And losses can mount quickly for a stock that’s already up against the ropes. So while you might be tempted to dabble in a potential comeback story or two, beware of some of the most common traps that end in disaster.

Sometimes the issue is too much debt; rising interest costs and balloon payments can turn minor business setbacks into major liquidity challenges. Other times, once-powerful consumer brands are brought to their knees by management that’s too slow to adapt to evolving consumer tastes.

Certain areas of the market can be particularly prone to disasters. Start-up biotech stocks are risky because they’re racing against the clock to bring new drugs to market before their cash runs out. Disappointing clinical trial result, in these cases, can cut a stock’s value in half (or worse) within days. Chinese stocks are problematic, too, because of sometimes poor visibility and weak corporate governance.

Here are 13 stocks to sell if you own them, or avoid if you’re on the hunt for the next turnaround story. The companies themselves aren’t necessarily an extinction threat, but for varying reasons, they’re all on the brink of delivering more disastrous returns.

Disclaimer

Data is as of July 19.

Lisa Springer
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com

Lisa currently serves as an equity research analyst for Singular Research covering small-cap healthcare, medical device and broadcast media stocks.