Carvana Co. plunged on Wednesday as Wall Street’s pessimism spread on its shares after the online car dealer’s largest creditors signed a deal to act together in negotiations with the company.
Its shares tumbled by a record 45%, triggering at least one volatility halt, after Wedbush analyst Seth Basham slashed his 12-month forecast on the stock by 89% to $1 and downgraded it to underperform. The move comes a day after Bloomberg News reported that Carvana’s largest creditors including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co. signed a pact to prevent creditor fights that have complicated other debt restructurings in recent years.
“These developments indicate a higher likelihood of debt restructuring that could leave the equity worthless in a bankruptcy scenario, or highly diluted in a best case,” Basham wrote in a note to clients.
The company’s bonds have tumbled below 50 cents on the dollar in recent weeks, an indication that traders believe there is a high probability that they will default. Carvana’s $3.3 billion bond due in 2030 trades at roughly 42 cents, down from 79 cents at the start of the year.
It’s the second time in about two months that Basham has cut his rating on Carvana. Back in October he downgraded the firm to neutral and slashed his price target to $15 from the $50 he had previously set. As recently as January, his 12-month price target on the stock was $300 per share.
