What's Going On With AT&T Stock?

AT&T Inc T shares are trading lower by 2.7% to $18.85 during Monday’s session amid overall market weakness. Major indexes are lower amid a selloff in tech stocks and concerns over an economic slowdown following recent U.S. economic data.

AT&T has a significant amount of debt on its balance sheet. In times of market uncertainty and heightened volatility, investors tend to become more risk-averse and tend to shy away from companies with high leverage.

Initially, there was speculation Monday about an intra-meeting Federal Reserve interest rate cut, which hinted at potential concerns about the economic outlook. Such speculations can create uncertainty and negatively impact investor sentiment toward highly indebted companies like AT&T.

When the ISM Services PMI data was released Monday, showing an unexpected improvement and reducing fears of an imminent recession, the market’s expectations shifted. The probability of a significant rate cut decreased, leading to rising bond yields. Higher yields make bonds more attractive relative to stocks, prompting investors to reallocate their portfolios away from equities, especially those perceived as riskier or more sensitive to interest rates, such as AT&T.

Additionally, the telecommunications sector, in which AT&T operates, is particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Rising rates can increase the company’s borrowing costs, impacting its profitability and cash flow. Given AT&T’s substantial debt load, any indication of rising interest rates can lead to concerns about the company’s ability to service its debt and maintain its dividend, which is a critical factor for many of its investors.

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How To Buy T Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for AT&T – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of AT&T, which is trading at $18.93 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 5.28 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.