Trading in the opening half of March battered hospital stocks, and that trend has continued in the early parts of April.
The big five for-profit operators of acute-care hospitals experienced one of the worst trading weeks all year last week, as each company lost at least 3.4 percent of share value. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services and Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems fronted the biggest losses, as they each lost more than 8.2 percent. UHS ended Friday at $74.61 per share — wiping out its past month of gains.
However, the bear market has been seen across the economy, as both the Nasdaq and Dow Jones slipped significantly last week. Some financial managers see the slowdown as a positive sign, as the stock market had experienced high, almost unsustainable trends in 2013.
"You don't want a market to go just straight up to the sky," a mutual fund manager told The Wall Street Journal. "When you go straight up, there's not a lot of support on the way down."
• Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.): $35.37 per share (down 8.23 percent)
• Hospital Corporation of America (Nashville, Tenn.): $48.21 per share (down 3.91 percent)
• LifePoint Hospitals (Brentwood, Tenn.): $52.13 per share (down 3.45 percent)
• Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Dallas): $39.34 per share (down 6.06 percent)
• Universal Health Services (King of Prussia, Pa.): $74.61 per share (down 8.26 percent)
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