What happens when you have a huge rally and you still see many popular stocks not performing at all or hardly up at all on the broad market?  Traders either chase the names up on a secondary or tertiary look, or they determine something is wrong with the companies enough that they still avoid them.  Some of the names of the big popular stocks that are trading lower are very surprising to see trading in the red, while others are sort of obvious on news.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) opened up this morning but slid steadily after the first few minutes of trading.  Shares are down 1.2% at $37.40 after continued fears of same-store sales gains.  Volume is rather light here today.

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is down 1.1% at $18.16 and Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) is down 1.4% at $24.30 in early afternoon trading after a Bernstein downgrade.

Dean Foods Company (NYSE: DF) is down a whopping 24.7% at $11.03 on major volume of well over 20 million shares half-way through the trading day.  Dean saw an earnings slide and it suspended earnings guidance, and this technically a decade low.

DragonWave Inc. (NASDAQ: DRWI) is down after four or five analysts either cut estimates or downgraded the stock after last week’s troubled earnings showing that its growth may already be capped. Shares are down almost 8% at $5.53 on the day.

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is down 0.15% at $27.47, likely on more and more fears about the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) is down over 7.5% at $21.58 today after reports that it may face SEC action(s) for misleading regulators in a license application that may have added fuel to the fire over the credit crisis.  Throw in The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. (NYSE: MHP) in there for its S&P unit to have a near-7% drop to $28.19. Wait one second here, ratings agencies having a stake in the credit bubble and crisis…. Duh!!!!

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) was down 0.2% at $22.60 this morning after its net income was down 70% net on less derivative gains and as results from operations missed expectations.

Pacific Capital Bancorp (NASDAQ: PCBC) is at it again… today for a 6.1% drop to $2.29 on well over 8 million shares.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is the only of the 30 DJIA components not up on the day, and shares are down 0.2% at $52.24 as investors go back into “recovery retail winners” rather than the winner of the recession.

Of the “barely up crowd” there are the following:

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is up only about 1% today at $57.95 on light volume, a surprise considering that this is one of the retail investor favorites.

Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) is one where investors are choosing other growth over current problems.  Shares are up not even 0.2% at $51.87 on a day that almost every major biotech is far higher.

These are not the only losers on a strong day, but this is a solid example of the stocks which are just not performing along with the market.

JON C. OGG

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