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Why U.S. Steel, Amarin, and Papa John's International Slumped Today

The stock market had an up-and-down session on Tuesday, but most major benchmarks rebounded from early losses to finish at least modestly higher. Global trade took the spotlight for most of the day, with morning reports indicating the potential for higher tariffs giving way to more encouraging news of ongoing discussions with Chinese officials to try to forestall a further escalation in the current trade dispute. However, some stocks weren't able to regain their lost ground, and U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), Amarin (NASDAQ: AMRN), and Papa John's International (NASDAQ: PZZA) were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.

China concerns hurt U.S. Steel

U.S. Steel saw its stock drop 8% as investors assessed the potential impact of an economic slowdown in China on the global steel industry. Overall, output of the metal has risen worldwide, but China's demand for steel has been waning somewhat recently. Many have believed that tariffs on steel would help the company by cutting competition from Chinese steelmakers. However, shareholders now seem to fear the deteriorating fundamentals in the industry even more, and if Chinese demand shrinks further, prices for the metal could fall, hurting revenue and profits for U.S. Steel and its peers.

Rolled steel coming out hot from a heating machine.
Rolled steel coming out hot from a heating machine.

Image source: U.S. Steel.

Amarin sells some stock

Amarin shares fell 13% in the wake of the biopharmaceutical company's public offering of stock. Amarin said late yesterday that it would offer stock to raise money for the support of the commercialization of its Vascepa drug, on which it hopes to get approval to expand its label to promote its cardioprotective effects. The company also wants to boost supplies of the drug. In its pricing announcement, Amarin elaborated that it intends to raise about $200 million, but it didn't identify the actual number of shares or price per share, instead merely noting the current market price. Investors fear dilution, and that's weighing on the positive sentiment generated from encouraging study results from Vascepa recently.

Will Papa John's find a buyer?

Finally, shares of Papa John's International finished down 10%. The pizza chain has been in discussions with a potential acquirer, but news today suggested that the private equity company Trian Fund Management won't be among those institutional investors bidding for Papa John's. Trian isn't the only company that was reportedly interested in looking at Papa John's, but its reputation makes its exit noteworthy. With even the pizza chain's franchisees frustrated with the situation, some shareholders fear that a buyout is likely the only viable strategy for trying to help the ailing company recover from recent controversies.

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Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.