NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Shares in Affymetrix were down approximately 13 percent, or $2.72, at $18.85 in mid-afternoon trading today after the company yesterday posted a $10.1 million net loss and a 4.7-percent decline in revenue for the second quarter.
The stock is currently trading at levels not seen since 2003.
Separately today, investment bank Thomas Weisel downgraded the stock to “Peer Perform” from “Outperform,” saying the company’s earnings outlook lacked clarity. Also today, Infinium Securities downgraded the stock to “Underperform” from “Neutral.”
Additionally, Lehman Brothers and PiperJaffray lowered their price targets for the company, Lehman to $25 from $39 and PiperJaffray to $21 from $27, according to Marketwatch.com.
According to Marketwatch, J.P. Morgan analyst Tycho Peterson said: "Flummoxed by the continued spate of revenue and earnings disappointments, a tempered outlook and lack of any meaningful visibility around the timing and magnitude of a turnaround, we expect investors will remain hesitant to re-embrace [Affymetrix's] story.”