William B. Cassidy | Jun 09, 2010 10:41PM EDT
YRC Worldwide's stock plunged to a record low Wednesday, dropping from about 31 cents to 22.2 cents per share before pulling up to 23.1 cents when the market closed.
YRC Worldwide's sudden share value drop far exceeded the decline in the markets or at its trucking competitors, cutting the value of its stock by 25.4 percent in one day.
The stock's share price has dropped more than 50 percent in the past month, falling from 48 cents a share May 10, and almost 70 percent since its recent peak of 76 cents April 26.
In comparison, Arkansas Best saw its share value drop about 0.8 percent Wednesday to $20.86 a share, and Con-way¹s share value fell less than 0.2 percent to $29.50.
YRC's trading volume spiked Wednesday to more than 75.6 million shares, about 57 percent higher than its three month trading average of 45.3 million shares a day. The stock¹s trading volume has only exceeded 50 million shares a day five times since April.
The slide in share value wasn¹t a response to immediate news from YRC, which has insisted its business is improving since reporting a $274 million loss in the first quarter.
Chairman, CEO and President Bill Zollars told analysts last month the company broke even in April on an adjusted earnings basis and that business was growing.
YRC expects to initiate a reverse stock split by the end of the second quarter. Its goal is to raise the share price back above $1, which would avoid delisting by NASDAQ.
--Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.