what stocks went down: Complete Guide

What Stocks Went Down

This article answers the simple but powerful query: what stocks went down — and why that question matters. If you want to quickly identify which publicly traded equities declined over a chosen timeframe (intraday, daily, weekly or longer), this guide walks you through the metrics, data sources, analysis techniques, common pitfalls, and practical workflows. You will learn how to interpret loser lists, where to get timely data, and how to combine fundamental and technical checks before drawing conclusions.

As of January 16, 2026, according to Yahoo Finance reporting, companies such as Waystar (ticker WAY) have been in focus after a multi‑quarter pressure period; Waystar fell about 20% over the prior 12 months amid integration and market‑share concerns tied to sector shifts. This piece uses that reporting as a context example while keeping the focus on methods for finding and analyzing losers, not stock recommendations.

Overview and Purpose

Investors and traders commonly ask "what stocks went down" to monitor losses, spot potential buying opportunities, manage downside risk, or gauge market sentiment. The same question can refer to U.S. equities, global stocks, or even crypto tokens; this article focuses on equities in U.S. markets.

Common timeframes for the question include:

• Intraday (which stocks went down today or during trading hours) — useful for short‑term traders.
• Close‑to‑close daily (which stocks closed lower than yesterday) — useful for day traders and reporters.
• Weekly or monthly (which stocks lost the most over longer windows) — useful for swing traders and longer‑term investors.

Tracking "what stocks went down" helps with loss management, rebalancing, tax planning, identifying oversold names, and monitoring industry or macro stress.

Key Metrics Used to Identify Stocks That Went Down

When building a loser list, textbook metrics help rank and contextualize moves. Important measures include:

• Percentage change: the most common ranking — percent decline over a chosen timeframe.
• Absolute price change: dollar decline, which matters more for higher‑priced shares.
• Volume and relative volume: higher volume on a drop suggests conviction; low volume can signal noise.
• Market capitalization: larger caps falling 5% may matter more than microcaps falling 50%.
• Intraday range: high intraday volatility or large gap downs indicate stress.
• Pre‑market/after‑hours movement: off‑hours moves can signal news‑driven reactions that may reverse at the open.
• 52‑week range: where the current price sits relative to the yearly high/low gives context on whether the stock is still near long‑term lows.
• P/E, EPS and other fundamentals (where applicable): help determine whether a drop reflects valuation re‑rating or transient issues.

Using a combination of these metrics produces a richer, more actionable losers list than any single number alone.

Common Types of “Losers” Lists

Loser lists are tailored to different user needs. Typical categories include:

• Biggest losers (daily/weekly/monthly) by percent decline.
• Sector‑specific losers (e.g., healthcare, tech, energy) to spot rotation or idiosyncratic stress.
• Index‑component losers (S&P 500, Nasdaq 100) focusing on large, influential names.
• Most‑active losers (high volume combined with price decline) hinting at institutional flows.
• Pre‑market and after‑hours losers that react to news outside regular sessions.
• Leveraged ETFs and inverse ETFs, which can show outsized moves due to daily rebalancing.

Each list serves different users: reporters and dashboard users often prefer headline biggest losers, while traders may prioritize intraday or most‑active losers.

Major Data Sources and Platforms (what these providers offer)

Yahoo Finance

Provides day‑gainer/day‑loser lists, intraday quotes, news, and customizable watchlists for U.S. stocks and ETFs (source: Yahoo Finance day losers).

TradingView

Real‑time screener and sortable "biggest losers" lists with charting and technical indicators for U.S. markets (source: TradingView market movers — losers).

The Motley Fool

Editorial lists of top daily losers with commentary and context, often geared to retail investors (source: Motley Fool biggest stock losers).

StockAnalysis

Tabular market pages listing top losers by percent change with financial snapshots and exportable data (source: StockAnalysis losers).

TipRanks

Market mover pages with losers/gainers lists and analyst/sentiment overlays (source: TipRanks top losers).

MarketBeat

Time‑period selectable lists (e.g., this week’s biggest losers) plus indicators like trending news and gap/down tags (source: MarketBeat biggest losers this week).

Slickcharts

Index‑focused pages (e.g., S&P 500 losers) useful for quickly seeing which index components trended down (source: Slickcharts S&P 500 losers).

Morningstar

Market movers pages with gainers/losers/most active and fundamental data useful for longer‑term context (source: Morningstar market movers).

News outlets (CNBC, CNN and others)

Market wrap and news articles that explain major market moves and highlight headline losers tied to macro or company events (sources include CNBC market coverage and CNN markets).

Note: For live trading, many professionals use broker feeds or exchange‑licensed data; retail platforms above offer accessible starting points for most users.

Why Stocks Go Down — Common Causes

Stocks fall for many reasons. Typical drivers include:

• Company‑specific news: earnings misses, guidance cuts, litigation or management changes can trigger steep falls.
• Macro conditions: interest rate moves, inflation data or recession risks can weigh on broad markets.
• Sector rotation: investors may shift capital between sectors, causing declines in out‑of‑favor industries.
• Supply/demand and liquidity issues: low liquidity can magnify price moves in small stocks.
• Technical breakdowns: breaches of key support levels often accelerate selling.
• One‑off events: delistings, large shareholder sales, margin calls or cybersecurity incidents can cause abrupt declines.

Each cause implies different persistence: company fundamentals suggest longer‑lasting moves, while technical or liquidity‑driven drops sometimes mean quick rebounds.

Analyzing Stocks That Have Fallen

Fundamental analysis

Review earnings, guidance, balance sheet strength, cash flow and valuation to decide whether a decline reflects a lasting problem or an overreaction.

Technical analysis

Check support and resistance, trend strength, volume spikes and indicators (RSI, MACD) to assess whether a fallen stock shows a tradeable setup or ongoing breakdown.

News and event analysis

Correlate price drops with announcements, regulatory filings or macro events to determine cause and likely persistence.

Combining these three lenses — fundamentals, technicals, and event context — helps separate temporary volatility from structural deterioration.

Practical Tools and Workflows to Monitor Losers

Common workflows used by traders and analysts include:

• Configure screeners with filters for percent down, minimum volume and market cap to avoid illiquid small caps.
• Set real‑time alerts for gap downs, threshold declines (e.g., 5% intraday) or when a name hits its 52‑week low.
• Maintain watchlists of securities of interest and subscribe to market mover pages for automatic updates.
• Use broker or exchange APIs to automate monitoring and feed dashboards for rapid decision‑making.
• Employ mobile push notifications for time‑sensitive moves.

For custodial and execution needs, consider using licensed exchanges; for custody, consider secure wallet solutions. Bitget offers both exchange services and Bitget Wallet for users who want integrated tools for trading and asset management.

Interpreting Losers Lists — Pitfalls and Considerations

When evaluating which stocks went down, watch for these common traps:

• Small‑cap and OTC stocks can show dramatic percentage moves due to very low liquidity or manipulation.
• Large percentage drops in low‑priced shares (penny stocks) are often misleading for portfolio impact.
• After‑hours and pre‑market moves may reverse once regular trading resumes.
• Data delays and survivorship bias (dead or delisted names removed from datasets) can distort historical lists.

This article is informational only and is not investment advice. Consult a licensed financial professional before making trading decisions.

Use Cases for Tracking Which Stocks Went Down

Different market participants use loser data for specific goals:

• Short‑term traders: identify momentum breakdowns or potential short setups.
• Rebound traders: look for oversold names that may mean‑revert.
• Value investors: screen for beaten‑down stocks meeting fundamental criteria.
• Risk managers: monitor portfolio drawdowns and quickly identify concentration risk.
• Journalists and analysts: summarize market action and highlight headline losers for readers.

Tracking "what stocks went down" serves both reactive risk management and proactive opportunity discovery.

Example Snapshots (illustrative samples from sources)

As illustrative snapshots (not recommendations):

• As of January 16, 2026, Waystar (WAY) was highlighted in reporting for a roughly 20% decline over the prior 12 months, amid integration headwinds after a major acquisition and sector shifts toward AI‑driven revenue‑cycle systems (source: Yahoo Finance reporting on Bank of America comments).

• Typical daily losers on platforms such as TradingView and Yahoo Finance often include names with headline news, earnings misses or sector‑wide pressure (for example, a healthcare IT firm that missed guidance may appear among the day’s top losers).

• On weekly loser lists compiled by MarketBeat and StockAnalysis, it is common to find small‑cap or cyclical names that have underperformed due to macro data or commodity swings.

These snapshots illustrate how different sources present the same declines through various lenses: headline news, technical ranking, or fundamental context.

Historical Patterns and Academic Observations

Academic and market research highlights several patterns relevant when asking "what stocks went down": volatility clustering (periods of high volatility follow high volatility), partial mean reversion for some losers over medium horizons, and pronounced effects during earnings seasons. For rigorous study, consult peer‑reviewed papers on return predictability and post‑earnings drift.

Data Quality, Timeliness and Regulatory Considerations

Data differences matter: real‑time feeds (exchange licensed) are essential for execution, while many public sites provide delayed quotes. Consolidated tape rules and exchange reporting differences can impact timestamps and prices. For trading decisions use exchange‑licensed data; public aggregator pages are helpful for research but may lag.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I find intraday losers? A: Use real‑time screeners on market platforms or set intraday filters (percent down, minimum volume) in your broker or charting platform to list names moving lower during the session.

Q: Why do small stocks show huge percent drops? A: Low liquidity and small float can magnify moves; a modest sell order in an illiquid name can produce a large percentage change that overstates the economic impact.

Q: Are losers lists actionable? A: They are a starting point. Combine losers lists with fundamental checks, technical confirmation and news context before acting. This guidance is informational, not investment advice.

Q: How reliable are after‑hours price moves? A: After‑hours trades reflect news reaction but are lower in volume and may reverse at the open. Treat off‑hours moves as signals that require confirmation in regular trading.

See Also

Related topics readers often consult:

• Market movers / gainers
• Short interest and borrow availability
• Earnings surprise and guidance changes
• Sector rotation and macro drivers
• Stock screeners and watchlists
• ETF movers and leveraged ETF behavior
• Crypto token losers (requires a separate article)

References and Primary Data Sources

Sources consulted for the structure and examples in this article include major market data providers and business news organizations such as Yahoo Finance, TradingView, The Motley Fool, StockAnalysis, TipRanks, MarketBeat, Slickcharts, Morningstar, CNBC and CNN. For the Waystar example, reporting and analyst commentary were drawn from Yahoo Finance coverage as of January 16, 2026.

Practical Example: Applying the Steps to a Named Case

To illustrate a full workflow, consider a hypothetical monitoring process applied to a healthcare‑tech name that recently fell:

1. Identify the drop: use a screener to list the top percent losers for the day and find the healthcare‑tech name among the top entries.
2. Check volume: confirm volume was above average, indicating conviction behind the move.
3. Read news: correlate the decline with any earnings release, analyst note or sector event — for example, an analyst downgrading a revenue outlook or a cybersecurity incident in a peer.
4. Run fundamental checks: review latest earnings, cash flow and balance sheet. If fundamentals hold, the drop may be sentiment‑driven.
5. Technical context: look for support levels, trend lines and RSI to determine whether the name is oversold.
6. Decide action: based on time horizon and risk tolerance, place a monitored trade, add to a watchlist, or simply note the name for follow‑up research.

In January 2026, analysts noted that Waystar’s multi‑quarter softness and acquisition integration were relevant fundamentals; combining news and fundamentals allowed practitioners to form a measured view rather than react to headline percent moves alone. As of January 16, 2026, bank analysts like those at Bank of America flagged both the near‑term pressures and potential upside if AI‑driven efficiencies materialize.

Monitoring Checklist — A Short Practical Cheat Sheet

• Use percent change + minimum volume + market cap filters.
• Confirm large moves with above‑average volume.
• Read the primary news item or filing that corresponds to the time of the move.
• Check overnight/pre‑market prints for continuing flow.
• Validate fundamentals (cash, debt, EPS trends) before concluding the drop is structural.
• Avoid acting on thinly traded or OTC names without broader confirmation.

Bitget‑Focused Tools and Guidance

If you want integrated tools to monitor market movers and manage orders, Bitget provides a trading platform with watchlists, alerts and advanced order types suitable for active traders. For secure custody and on‑chain interactions, Bitget Wallet offers an integrated way to manage digital assets alongside trading tools. Use platform alerts and watchlists to monitor which stocks went down in your portfolio and set stop‑loss or limit orders to manage risk.

Please note: this mention of Bitget is informational. It is not an endorsement or investment recommendation. Ensure you understand platform fees, order execution mechanics and account protections before trading.

Final Notes and Next Steps

Asking "what stocks went down" is a practical entry point for traders, investors and reporters. To turn a losers list into useful insight, combine quantitative filters, news checks and fundamental/technical analysis. For ongoing monitoring, use screeners, alerts, and watchlists in your preferred platform; professionals augment these with exchange‑licensed feeds.

For readers who want to act on insights and manage execution and custody in one ecosystem, explore Bitget’s trading platform and Bitget Wallet for consolidated watchlists and secure asset management.

Further exploration: review market mover pages on the data providers named above, read analyst notes for names of interest, and, if you create automated monitors, validate them with historical backtests.

This article is informational and not investment advice. Consult licensed professionals for personalized guidance.