Maine-based companies got dinged, too, in Monday’s market correction

Maine has few publicly traded companies, but the stock prices of those headquartered here and those with major ties to the state did get dinged in the market-wide correction Monday.

By the market’s close, the S&P 500 index was down 3.94 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.57 percent, after early-morning panic that saw some stocks, like Apple, take a drop, recover and close with losses on the day.

Drops in the value of Maine-based stocks fell in line with the market indices Monday, with losses ranging from Idexx’s 4.5 percent drop to WEX’s 1.2 percent dip.

The stock prices of Maine-based companies fell in line with the major market indices Monday. Click to view a live chart.

Westbook-based Idexx (IDXX) makes diagnostic tests to assess animal health; South Portland-based WEX is a payment processing company specializing in fuel payments for vehicle fleets.

Portland-based Immucell (ICCC) is also has products for animal health, specifically for treating diseases among dairy and beef cattle.

The other publicly traded companies headquartered in Maine are banks: Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB), Camden National Corp. (CAC), Northeast Bancorp (NBN) and First Bancorp Inc. (FNLC).

Reuters reported Monday that the drop in U.S. markets came in response to an 8.5 percent decline in Chinese stock values, adding to concern about the country devaluing its currency earlier in the month.

Maine-based stock prices were down over the past five days of trading, with stocks opening at some of their lowest levels of the past five days Monday.

Maine stocks have generally been on the decline over the past five trading days. Click for a live view of the above chart.

Other stocks were also down in trading Monday, led by losses for Verso Paper Corp., down 16.6 percent by the market’s close, to $0.25 per share. The company that announced 300 layoffs at its Jay mill last week faces delisting if it doesn’t boost its share value above $1 and raise its total market capitalization above $50 million.

Other publicly traded paper industry stocks were also down Monday, including Sappi Ltd., down 7.2 percent to $2.92 per share, and UPM-Kymmene Corp., down 2.2 percent to $16.73 per share.

Shares of Texas Instruments, which has a plant in South Portland, by close Monday were down 2.3 percent, to $44.89 per share; shares of Fairchild Semiconductor were down 2.9 percent, to $12.76 per share; and shares of Bath Iron Works parent company General Dynamics Corp. were down about 3 percent, to $140.87.

Stocks to watch that I’m missing? List them in the comments or make a Google Finance Portfolio for Maine stocks to watch and share it. See the list of Maine-based public companies I made here.

Darren Fishell

About Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.