Toronto, February 3, 2026, 12:03 EST
- Thomson Reuters shares tumbled about 16% in Toronto after a sharp cut to its price target.
- The drop hits software and data stocks tied to AI, which are seeing widespread selling pressure.
- With the Feb. 5 earnings report looming, investors are growing increasingly nervous.
Shares of Thomson Reuters plunged 15.8% on Tuesday after National Bankshares slashed its price target on the stock from C$300 to C$190, MarketBeat reported. The firm, however, kept its outperform rating intact.
Shares in legal and data companies are taking a hit as investors fret over AI tools threatening their core businesses. RELX plunged up to 17%, Wolters Kluwer fell 13%, and Thomson Reuters slipped more than 14% in a broad sector selloff.
“Software companies were seen as the big winners from AI,” Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank, told Reuters. “Now, suddenly, the question is whether they can actually recoup those earnings.”
The selloff hits just two days before Thomson Reuters is set to release its Q4 and full-year earnings on Feb. 5, the company confirmed in a statement.
In the Toronto session, the stock slipped to C$124.13 but rebounded to about C$125.46, MarketBeat reported. Trading volume remained elevated throughout.
Kalkine Media reported the shares fell to a fresh 12-month low on Canada’s main index, while trading volume surged during the drop.
National Bankshares took a sharp hit on its target price, but the rating didn’t budge. MarketBeat’s panel of analysts still leans bullish, with a consensus target sitting at C$243.80.
Thomson Reuters provides software and data services to lawyers, accountants, and corporate compliance teams, with its Westlaw legal database among the key offerings. The company has also poured significant resources into AI tools designed to automate research and drafting tasks.
Short term, sentiment could trump product roadmaps. Reuters pointed out that “fear often outweighed company fundamentals,” as traders grew uneasy over how fast views shifted on AI’s job replacement risks.
There’s a catch. If Thursday’s earnings arrive clean and guidance holds steady, the stock could quickly find solid footing. But if management hints at slower growth or brokers slash their targets again, the selloff might deepen.
A Nasdaq.com technical note from late last month highlighted that the shares had slipped into “oversold” territory, based on the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The RSI, a momentum indicator, is often used by traders to spot when price changes might be overstretched. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/relative-s…
