Toronto, February 3, 2026, 12:03 EST
- Shares of Thomson Reuters fell roughly 16% in Toronto following a steep downgrade of its price target.
- The decline comes as software and data stocks linked to AI face broad selling pressure.
- Investors are already on edge as the company approaches its Feb. 5 earnings report.
Thomson Reuters shares dropped 15.8% Tuesday after National Bankshares cut its price target on the stock from C$300 to C$190, MarketBeat reported. The firm maintained its outperform rating despite the downgrade. Marketbeat
Investors are offloading shares in legal and data firms amid worries that emerging AI tools could undercut key parts of their business. In a sector-wide selloff, RELX and Wolters Kluwer slid as much as 17% and 13% respectively, while Thomson Reuters dropped over 14%. Reuters
“The software companies were assumed to be winners from AI,” Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank, told Reuters. “But all of a sudden, you start to worry about whether you can earn the money back.”
The selloff comes just two days ahead of Thomson Reuters’ scheduled Q4 and full-year earnings report on Feb. 5, the company said in an announcement. Thomsonreuters
During the Toronto session, the stock dipped to C$124.13 before climbing back to roughly C$125.46, MarketBeat reported. Trading volume stayed higher than usual.
Kalkine Media also noted the shares plunged to a new 12-month low within Canada’s main index, with trading volume picking up noticeably during the decline. Kalkinemedia
National Bankshares’ hefty target cut grabbed attention, yet the firm’s rating stayed intact. Analysts tracked by MarketBeat remain mostly bullish, holding a consensus target price of C$243.80.
Thomson Reuters sells software and data to lawyers, accountants, and corporate compliance teams, including its Westlaw legal database. It has also invested heavily in new AI tools that automate research and drafting.
But in the short term, sentiment might matter more than product plans. “Fear often outweighed company fundamentals,” Reuters noted, with traders rattled by how quickly perceptions about AI’s potential to replace jobs have changed.
There’s a catch, though. If Thursday’s results come in clean and guidance stays steady, the stock may find solid footing fast. But if the management signals slower growth or brokers cut targets further, the selloff could intensify.
A Nasdaq.com technical note from late last month flagged the shares as having fallen into “oversold” territory, pointing to the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The RSI is a momentum indicator some traders use to identify when moves may have gone too far. Nasdaq
