Supermicro Stock Plunges on Annual Report Delay

Major U.S. equities indexes moved lower on Wednesday as tech stocks underperformed ahead of the hotly anticipated earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA), which was released after the closing bell.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.6%, while the Dow closed the midweek session 0.4% lower. The downtick among tech stocks contributed to the Nasdaq’s loss of 1.1%.

Shares of server and data center technology firm Super Micro Computer (SMCI) plummeted 19.0%, marking the weakest performance of any S&P 500 stock. The company announced on Wednesday that it would postpone filing its annual Form 10K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Supermicro’s decision to postpone the filing came a day after the activist investment firm Hindenburg Research accused the company of accounting anomalies and disclosed a short position in the stock.

Bath & Body Works (BBWI) shares dropped 7.0% after the personal care and beauty product retailer reduced its full-year sales forecast. The company said that due to persistent inflation, consumers remain cautious about expensive discretionary purchases, leading to weaker demand for the company’s products such as fragrances and scented candles.

The impact of inflation on consumer spending also dragged on shares of J.M. Smucker (SJM), which slipped 5% after the food maker missed quarterly sales estimates and lowered its full-year guidance. The CEO of the firm behind Jif peanut butter and its namesake jams said “selective” spending behavior had a particular impact on sales of sweet baked goods, weighing on the company’s Hostess brand.

Shares of Insulet (PODD), which manufacturers devices to help patients manage diabetes, notched the biggest daily gains in the S&P 500, jumping 6.2%. Wednesday’s strong performance extended an uptick posted in the previous session after Insulet received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Omnipod 5 wearable delivery system to be used by patients with type 2 diabetes.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO) shares added 2.9% after Nephron Research upgraded the stock to “buy.” The provider of clinical diagnostics tests benefits from a strong pipeline in its digital PCR business as well as growing demand for quality control, blood typing, and diabetes products.

Tyson Foods (TSN) shares gained 2.8% on Wednesday to reach a new 52-week high. Earlier this week, Zacks Equities Research highlighted Tyson as an attractive momentum stock, pointing to its strong recent performance and increasing earnings expectations.