Walloped By Wall Street: 10 Tech Stocks On The Skids

Sad Summer For Tech Stocks

The Wall Street woes of late July have only accelerated in August, particularly after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. debt facilities. From July 21, when the trouble really started, through Aug. 8, Nasdaq lost 16.8 percent of its value and the Dow Jones index lost 15.0 percent. For tech stocks, the news was even worse. Thirty-one of 50 public stocks tracked by CRN showed losses of more than 17 percent for that period, including two companies that lost more than 40 percent of their value. Here's a look at the 10 worst-performing companies during that period, as well as one that bucked the trend.

No. 10: QLogic

Aug. 8, 2011: $12.50
July 21, 2011: $16.43
Change: -23.9%

QLogic's most active trading day recently came on July 29 after the company reported its first-quarter earnings. The vendor lost 5.4 percent of its stock value on that day and continued to fall as the big selloffs continued.

No. 9: Sapient

Aug. 8, 2011: $11.22
July 21, 2011: $14.89
Change: -24.6%

Sapient beat analysts' expectations for its second quarter on Aug. 4 and declared a 35-cent-per-share dividend. Still the company has been battered on Wall Street. Shares fell more than $1 just on Monday.

No. 8: Xerox

Aug. 8, 2011: $7.70
July 21, 2011: $10.30
Change: -25.2%

Xerox shares have fallen 11 of the last 12 days. Its $7.70 closing price on Aug. 8 marks the lowest point since December 2009.

No. 7: Arrow Electronics

Aug. 8, 2011: $27.91
July 21, 2011: $37.36
Change: -25.3%

Arrow shares have lost more than a quarter of their value since July 21, almost $10 per share. The bad news started when it missed analysts' second quarter expectations on July 26. The next day, shares dropped more than $3.

No. 6: CBeyond

Aug. 8, 2011: $9.01
July 21, 2011: $12.61
Change: -28.5%

The telecom service provider missed earnings estimates on Aug. 3 and shares dropped more than $1 per share, after already dropping more than $2 since mid-July.

No. 5: Websense

Aug. 8, 2011: $18.81
July 21, 2011: $26.40
Change: -28.8%

Like many companies on this list, Websense shares fell dramatically ($2.68 per share) the day after announcing its second-quarter earnings. Shares fell almost $2 more on Monday after the Standard & Poor's grade on the U.S. changed.

No. 4: Netgear

Aug. 8, 2011: $27.01
July 21, 2011: $39.23
Change: -31.1%

Netgear lost $3.70 per share on July 28 after its earnings announcement. And then another $4 on Aug. 8 during the big selloff. Its $27.01 close Monday was its lowest point since October 2010.

No. 3: Juniper Networks

Aug. 8, 2011: $20.16
July 21, 2011: $30.32
Change: -33.5%

Many companies saw their stocks plummet in late July after reporting less-than-expected results. But Juniper also provided third-quarter guidance below expectations, and shares fell by $6.51 the next day. Since then, the company has lost another $4.50 per share as investor confidence remains shaky on a macro level.

No. 2: Quantum

Aug. 8, 2011: $1.77
July 21, 2011: $3.09
Change: -42.7%

Quantum shares fell 19 percent on Aug. 8 and are worth just over half of what they were only a month ago. Its $1.77 close Aug. 8 was its lowest price since September 2010.

No. 1: Brocade Communications

Aug. 8, 2011: $3.22
July 21, 2011: $5.88
Change: -45.2%

Shares of Brocade saw its biggest stock tumble since 1999 on Aug. 5 after missing the mark on revenue and profit forecasts. The company's stock had been fairly stable for much of the last year but its $3.22 close was its lowest point since March 2009.

Lone Star: Lexmark International

Aug. 8, 2011: $30.38
July 21, 2011: $29.58
Change: 2.7%

Lexmark shares shot up almost 18 percent on July 26 after reporting a 19-percent profit rise, better than Wall Street expected and shares increased again almost $2 per share on Aug. 3 after it announced it planned to buy back $250 million worth of shares by the end of the year. Those two events helped offset losses on other days to help the imaging giant post a 2.7 percent gain from July 21 to Aug. 8.