The '60 Minutes' Effect On Stocks

Experienced traders know that rumors don’t have to be true to move markets. Ever since a 2015 “60 Minutes” expose linking Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc LL products to cancer sent the stock crashing more than 75 percent, traders are on the lookout for any companies featured on the investigative program.

Regardless of whether or not these companies actually appeared on the program or what the content of the program was, stocks rumored to be featured on “60 Minutes” have certainly provided several trading opportunities in the past month.

'60 Minute' Movers

• On April 13, Allegiant Travel Company ALGT stock dropped more than 7 percent on reports the company would be featured as part of a “60 Minutes” investigation on travel safety. The stock ultimately dropped more than 12 percent before recovering most of its losses following the report. Traders that sold the rumor and bought the news made out like bandits.
• On April 20, Myomo Inc MYO stock shot up 13 percent on reports the company would be featured on an episode of “60 Minutes” featuring MIT’s Media laboratory. The day after the report, the stock gave up all but 0.5 percent of its gain.
• On April 26, Crispr Therapeutics AG CRSP stock gained 4.7 percent on reports the company would be featured on the upcoming “60 Minutes” episode. By the time the episode actually aired, that gain had turned into a 1.9 percent loss.
• On May 6, Mallinckrodt PLC MNK's drug Achtar was the target of a negative story on prescription drug prices. Mallinckrodt's stock was under pressure in the days leading up to the report following a negative FDA vote on its drug stannsoporfin.

How To Play It

If recent trends are any indication, the Lumber Liquidators expose may have made the market a bit jumpy when it comes to “60 Minutes.”

Recent stocks featured on the program have tended to make large knee-jerk moves in response to the initial “60 Minutes” news only to retrace most or all of those moves following the airing of the program. In that respect, a “60 Minutes”-related market move may be more of a contrarian indicator for traders these days. Of course, there’s always the risk that “60 Minutes” could blow the lid off of another huge story like Lumber Liquidators and have a lasting impact on a stock.

Regardless, traders can use the Benzinga Pro Newsfeed to monitor all the latest market news and trading rumors to find any stocks that may be on the move related to upcoming media coverage and other potential market catalysts.

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