Dow Jones Underperformers: Cisco, Walmart, Chevron, Walgreens

Dow Jones Industrials are in rally mode with a straight up look since the lows of late October, but there’s no “new high” like the Nasdaq 100. Among the 30 large capitalization stocks that make up the Dow, there are 4 names that have been a real drag on the index this month.

Cisco Sytems, Walmart
WMT
, Chevron
CVX
and Walgreens Boots Alliance
WBA
are being sold in November even as others have been making new 52-week. Each of the individual names has a reason but it’s clear that they’re weakness is keeping the Dow as a whole from keeping up with other key stock market indexes.

The Cisco Systems
CSCO
daily price chart looks like this:

After the company missed estimates for quarterly earnings and revenues, Wall Street investment managers took the news badly and sold shares. From a peak of $57.50 in early September to the current price of $48 amounts to a 16.5% drop in less than 3 months.

The selling volume (the reddish bar below the price chart) is huge, a solid confirmation of the new down trend. You can see how the 50-day moving average (the blue line) has turned downward and how the 200-day moving average (the red line) has paused its upward path.

Here’s the Walmart daily price chart:

That big gap down in mid-November came after the company’s chief financial officer predicted weaker consumer spending for the rest of 2023 after noting a “softening” of store sales in October. CFO
CFO
John Rainey told analysts that it looked as if customers were still buying groceries but had less interest in discretionary items.

The stock sold off to just above its rising 200-day moving average and managed to remain above the level of its October sell-off, a sign of buying support down there. The 50-day moving average is turning over after trending upward continuously since late March.

The daily price chart for Chevron is here:

The drop in the price of oil is affecting the major energy companies and that includes a giant like Chevron. West Texas Intermediate Crude traded at $94 in late September and now goes for $77. Good for those who pump gas at the convenience store but makes the sector less profitable.

Chevron dropped from a September peak of $170 and trades post-Thanksgiving day at $144. Those who purchased shares at the high are now sitting on a 3- month loss of 15%. The 50-day moving average has crossed below the 200-day moving average for a bearish vibe.

The Walgreens Boots Alliance daily price chart looks like this:

The previous year’s $180 million loss continues to affect the chain of 9000 stores as management closes stores and reduces staff. Analysts at JP Morgan like the changes and, in October, upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “overweight” with a price target of $27 to $30.

It’s one of the worst looking price charts among the Dow 30 with a relentless down trend from the April high of just above $34 to the present $21. Walgreens Boots Alliance is unable to rise above either its 200-day moving average or its 50-day moving average.

For comparison, here’s the daily price chart for the Dow Jones Industrial Average: