US Steel shares fall for a sixth straight session on Thursday, steel giant double downgraded to “Underperform” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Shares of United States Steel Corporation (X) plunged to lows not seen since October 2016 during Thursdays session, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch double downgraded the stock from “Buy” to “Underperform”, while analyst Timna Tanners noted that the company had become the latest “Steelmageddon victim”.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch also cut its 12-month price target on the shares from $31 to $18.

Shares of United States Steel Corp closed lower for a sixth consecutive trading session in New York on Thursday. It has also been the longest string of losses since early March. The stock went down 3.25% ($0.56) to $16.69, after touching an intraday low at $16.60, or a price level not seen since October 17th 2016 ($16.50).

Shares of United States Steel Corporation have retreated 8.50% so far in 2019 compared with a 17.30% gain for the benchmark index, S&P Midcap 400 (MID).

In 2018, US Steel’s stock went down 48.17%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P Midcap 400, which registered a 12.50% loss.

“Not only have recent price hikes not stuck but benchmark hot rolled coil retreated to its lows of the year in recent days,” Bank of America Merrill Lynchs Tanners wrote in a client note. The analyst added that steel sheet has been priced at or below landed import price levels by mills across the United States.

Tanners also warned that US Steel Corp could burn through $200 million of cash between 2019 and 2021.

Earlier this week, Credit Suisse also revised down its rating on the stock from “Neutral” to “Underperform” and slashed its 12-month price target from $21 to $13.

According to CNN Money, the 14 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding US Steel Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $22.50, with a high estimate of $33.00 and a low estimate of $13.00. The median estimate represents a 34.81% upside compared to the closing price of $16.69 on April 11th.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 17 surveyed investment analysts had rated US Steel Corp’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for United States Steel Corporation (X) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $20.03
R1 – $20.34
R2 – $20.84
R3 – $21.15
R4 – $21.46

S1 – $19.53
S2 – $19.22
S3 – $18.72
S4 – $18.22