Investing

The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index: March 26 The Companies With The Most Bad Press

Lennar (NYSE: LEN)  received a large amount of bad press after it was disclosed that an outsider had been accused of insider trading in the company’s shares  Alcatel Lucent’s (NYSE: ALU) image was rubbed on concerns about whether client AT&T (NYSE: T) would continue to use its services.

Two companies, Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) each received a large jump in negative press mentions just after they released earnings. As a matter of fact, RIMM shares fell 10%.

Note: The Flame Index scans thousands of news sites 24 hours per day and ranks companies getting the most negative press right now. The Flame Index Media Analysis Algorithm crunches the data for an up-to-the-minute ranking of the hardest-hit companies.The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market

Rank Company Ticker Score Change in Rank Comments
1 Johnson & Johnson JNJ 45.22 +15 Lingering concerns about recalls and product quality
2 Lennar LEN 43.067 +166 Insider trading charges brought against outsider
3 Toyota Motor Corporation TM 38.925 +4 Plants in Japan still idle
4 Rite Aid RAD 36.961 +14 Competitor Walgreen gets good buy with drugstore.com
5 Honda Motor Company HMC 36.281 +7 Plant slowdowns due to quake
6 Alcatel Lucent ALU 32.319 +43 Concerns about lost business due to AT&T deal to buy T-Mobile
7 Barnes & Noble BKS 31.527 -5 Decides it cannot find a buyer
8 Bank of America Corp. BOA 31.372 -4 Fed rejects attempts to reinstate dividend
9 Google GOOG 31.011 -8 New version of Android slowed
10 Fannie Mae FNMAS 30.511 -7 Concerns about insolvency
2 Lennar LEN 43.067 +166 Insider trading
6 Alcatel Lucent ALU 32.319 +43 AT&T supply interruption?
17 Research In Motion Limited RIMM 24.724 +718 Awful earnings forecast
18 Oracle ORCL 24.009 +81 Earnings news
24 Best Buy BBY 22.321 +141 Awful earnings

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

Get Ready To Retire (Sponsored)

Start by taking a quick retirement quiz from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes, or less.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Get started right here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.