Autoliv, TRW drop on downgrade, earnings warning
Autoliv, TRW drop on downgrade, earnings warning DETROIT (Global Markets) - U.S.-listed shares of Autoliv (ALV.N) dropped more than 10 percent on Friday after the world's largest airbag maker said probes from U.S. and European regulators could hurt its earnings.Stock Market Predictions
The news prompted Buckingham Research Group to downgrade the stock to neutral, with analyst Joseph Amaturo citing too much "uncertainty" stemming from the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission.
"We are unable to accurately quantify the financial impact of this investigation, as there is limited knowledge regarding the scope of revenue and products involved," Amaturo wrote.
He added: "Consequently, we believe this issue, which is unquantifiable at this juncture, will limit the upside in the stock even with expected improved near-term fundamentals."
Autoliv shares were down 10.4 percent to $71.45 on the New York Stock Exchange. Autoliv shares were also down in Europe.
The European Commission said last month that it was investigating some auto parts suppliers for possible anti-competitive behavior, but did not name the companies.
At that time, Autoliv said European regulators visited two Autoliv facilities in Germany. The company added it was cooperating with European regulators.
Auto parts supplier TRW Automotive (TRW.N) also said in June that it received requests for information from both U.S. and European regulators.
About half of TRW's revenue last year was from Europe. Shares of TRW fell 6.6 percent to $55.58.
"(TRW) is probably down in sympathy with Autoliv due to the potential uncertainties regarding trade and collaboration among safety product manufacturers in the European market," Morningstar analyst Richard Hilgert said.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman, editing by Bernard Orr)