What Happened?
Shares of building materials company Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR) fell 3.8% in the afternoon session after Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'Hold' from 'Buy' and lowered its price target. The analyst firm significantly reduced its price target on the shares to $110 from $138. The downgrade reflected a more cautious view of the stock's future performance.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Builders FirstSource? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Builders FirstSource’s shares are very volatile and have had 21 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago when the stock dropped 6.4% on the news that concerns about the health of the U.S. economy grew following a significant downward revision of job market data.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 911,000 fewer jobs from April 2024 through March than initially estimated. These "benchmark revisions" are issued annually to more accurately account for new and defunct businesses. The report detailed that the leisure and hospitality sector added 176,000 fewer jobs, professional and business services 158,000 fewer, and retailers 126,000 fewer. This weaker-than-expected data fueled investor anxiety, as it suggested businesses were becoming more reluctant to hire amid economic uncertainty.
The numbers issued are preliminary, with final revisions scheduled for February 2026.
Builders FirstSource is down 26.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $104.51 per share, it is trading 39.8% below its 52-week high of $173.51 from January 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Builders FirstSource’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,871.
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