Despite a Fed-fueled rally that pushed major US indices toward record highs, a cluster of high‑profile stocks sank sharply on Wednesday. Here’s what drove today’s biggest losers — and what Wall Street is saying next.
Market recap: Fed cut fuels rally, but pockets of pain emerge
New York — December 10, 2025.
Wall Street finished the day higher after the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25‑basis‑point rate cut, its third cut of 2025, taking the federal funds target range down to roughly 3.50%–3.75%. [1]
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both advanced and flirted with all‑time highs, while small caps continued a strong run, according to multiple intraday wraps. [2]
But beneath those headline gains, today’s top losers on the US stock market painted a different picture. Among actively traded US names, platforms like TipRanks and Investing.com flagged:
- Polestar Automotive (PSNY): –25.1%
- AeroVironment (AVAV): –12.8%
- Denali Therapeutics (DNLI): around –10–11%
- TMC The Metals Company (TMC): –11.1% (intraday), about –6% by late trade
- Ondas Holdings (ONDS): –9.6%
- Plus high‑beta large caps like Uber (UBER) and AutoZone (AZO) sliding 4–6% despite the broader rally. [3]
At the very top of the percentage‑loss tables, a series of thinly traded microcaps — notably Work Medical Technology (WOK), Agape ATP (ATPC), PomDoctor (POM) and ChowChow Cloud (CHOW) — cratered between –85% and –97% on the day. [4]
Below, we break down what moved the biggest names — and summarize the latest forecasts and analyst commentary published today.
Polestar (PSNY): Reverse split and structural uncertainty trigger a 25% crash
Move: Polestar Automotive plunged about 25.1% to $13.70, topping US‑listed losers among larger, actively traded stocks. [5]
A TipRanks breaking‑news note tied the sell‑off primarily to Polestar’s 1‑for‑30 reverse stock split and a temporary trading halt pending news, which unsettled investors already nervous about the company’s balance sheet. The article notes strong revenue growth but says the market focused on “structural changes in stock management,” not top‑line momentum. [6]
A separate Polestar Remains a Sell analysis on Seeking Alpha (published today but behind a paywall) highlighted:
- Q3 2025 revenue of roughly $748 million, below prior expectations.
- Negative gross margins of around –6%, indicating Polestar is still losing money on each car sold.
- A net loss in the hundreds of millions of dollars and net debt in the multi‑billion range, raising the risk of future dilution. [7]
TipRanks pegs Polestar’s year‑to‑date price performance around –42% and shows a “Sell” technical sentiment despite a market cap near $39 billion post‑split. [8]
What analysts are saying today
- Bearish commentators argue the reverse split and halts are classic distress signals, not purely cosmetic moves, and may precede further equity raises. [9]
- Bulls counter that Polestar still benefits from the premium EV brand halo and parent‑company backing, but few dispute that near‑term risk is elevated.
Bottom line: Polestar’s collapse today is less about the Fed and more about capital structure, cash burn and investor confidence. Until the company proves it can generate positive margins and fund growth without constant dilution, the stock is likely to remain volatile.
AeroVironment (AVAV): Record revenue, ugly margins
Move:AeroVironment — a key supplier of small drones to the US and allied militaries — dropped roughly 10–13% intraday, finishing around –12.8% at $245.35, making it one of the day’s largest mid‑cap losers. [10]
According to a detailed breakdown from StockStory/Finviz, today’s sell‑off followed Q2 2026 earnings that looked great on sales but poor on profits: [11]
- Revenue: ~$472.5 million, up 151% year‑over‑year, a record for the company.
- Adjusted EPS:$0.44 vs $0.79 expected — a sharp miss.
- Operating margin: Swung from +3.7% to –6.4%, hurt by integration costs and higher expenses.
- Full‑year EPS guidance was cut, with the midpoint trimmed by nearly 5%.
Despite the drop, AeroVironment is still up nearly 60% year‑to‑date, but the stock trades almost 40% below its October 2025 high around $410 — underscoring just how volatile it has become. [12]
Fresh forecasts and ratings
- BTIG reiterated a “Buy” rating and $415 price target today, arguing that the long‑term demand story for drones, loitering munitions and unmanned systems remains intact despite short‑term margin pressure. [13]
- Other coverage (Barron’s, 24/7 Wall St.) framed the move as investors punishing an earnings miss after a big run, not losing faith in the underlying defense story.
Takeaway: AeroVironment is a textbook “growth but no profit” story today: incredible revenue momentum, but a sudden margin reversal. Bulls see a buying opportunity; skeptics worry that profitability could lag revenue for longer than hoped.
Denali Therapeutics (DNLI): Dilution fears after a $200 million stock sale
Move:Denali Therapeutics slid into the top‑losers list with a drop of about 10–11%, trading around the mid‑teens after gapping down at the open. [14]
The trigger actually came late yesterday. An Investing.com piece notes Denali announced plans to raise $200 million via an underwritten offering of common stock and pre‑funded warrants, with underwriters granted a 30‑day option for another $30 million. [15]
Investors reacted to the prospect of dilution rather than any new clinical data:
- The company did not specify exactly how it will deploy the proceeds, only that the deal is subject to market conditions. [16]
- A MarketBeat alert published today points out that Denali already trades with a negative P/E and ongoing losses, though its latest quarter saw EPS of –$0.74, slightly better than expected, with flat revenue. [17]
Analyst outlook
Despite today’s pain, Wall Street remains broadly constructive:
- MarketBeat cites a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target near $32.67, more than double today’s share price. [18]
- Large banks including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have recently raised their targets, betting that Denali’s neuro‑degeneration pipeline (including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s candidates) can justify the cash burn. [19]
Conclusion: Denali’s slide is a classic biotech pattern — raise cash, get hit. For long‑term holders, the key question is whether the extra capital buys enough time to deliver pivotal trial readouts.
TMC The Metals Company (TMC): Deep‑sea miner stumbles after earnings miss, insider selling
Move:TMC The Metals Company spent the session among the top US losers, dropping about 11% at one point and finishing the day down around 6.1% to roughly $7.27 on light volume. [20]
A MarketBeat instant alert published today flagged three main worries: [21]
- The company’s recent quarter showed EPS of –$0.14, wider than the –$0.06 loss analysts expected.
- The stock now carries an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.42, only marginally above where it traded today.
- Insider selling has been heavy, with insiders unloading about 1.7 million shares in the last quarter (including a large sale by executive Erika Ilves), even though insiders still own roughly 28% of the company.
TMC sits at the speculative end of the energy transition trade, focused on deep‑sea polymetallic nodules rich in nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese. [22]
Investor lens: The stock’s reaction suggests that, for now, earnings misses plus insider selling outweigh the long‑term EV‑metals narrative — especially on a day when risk‑on sentiment generally favored more established names.
Uber (UBER): Regulatory storm and EV rethink knock nearly 6% off the stock
Move:Uber Technologies closed at roughly $84.5, down just over 5% on the day after trading as low as about $82.8, according to StockAnalysis historical data. [23] Benzinga’s intraday wrap similarly highlighted Uber as one of the day’s notable decliners, showing it down about 6% around midday. [24]
An AI‑generated but editor‑reviewed note on AInvest summed up the sell‑off as a collision of regulatory risk and strategy shift: [25]
- Protests by taxi drivers in Barcelona and other European cities are fueling calls for tougher rules on ride‑hailing, potentially shrinking Uber’s addressable market in key EU hubs.
- Uber is rolling back monthly EV incentive payments to drivers, raising doubts about how aggressively it will push toward its own climate goals.
- Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Erste Group have trimmed price targets, citing regulatory overhangs — though they still see longer‑term upside.
A separate piece from Invezz/TradingView today warns that Uber, despite being up more than 30% year‑to‑date, now trades at about 25× forward earnings and sits below its major moving averages, leaving little margin for error. [26]
Investor takeaway: Today’s slide reinforces Uber as a high‑beta, policy‑sensitive stock. As governments tighten rules around gig work, data, and emissions, regulatory headlines can matter as much as earnings.
AutoZone (AZO): Earnings miss and inventory accounting hit the S&P 500 laggard
Move: After plunging more than 6% yesterday following earnings, AutoZone remained under pressure today, ranking among the S&P 500’s notable losers with an additional mid‑single‑digit drop at times before paring losses into the close. [27]
A cluster of fresh pieces from Motley Fool/Nasdaq, Barchart and MarketBeat all point to the same culprit: a messy fiscal Q1 2026. [28]
Key points from today’s coverage:
- EPS of $31.04 came in below Wall Street estimates, even though revenue was roughly in line. [29]
- Comparable‑store sales grew about 5.5%, solid but still shy of bullish expectations. [30]
- A large non‑cash LIFO inventory accounting charge squeezed margins, and analysts also highlighted tariffs on imported auto parts as an ongoing headwind for profitability. [31]
Despite the drop, a QuiverQuant recap today notes that major firms — Mizuho, Barclays, DA Davidson, Baird, Goldman Sachs and BMO among them — maintain “Buy/Outperform” ratings, though DA Davidson cut its target to $4,500 per share. [32]
Nasdaq’s own post‑earnings write‑up points out that even after the sell‑off, AutoZone shares are still up roughly 18% in 2025, slightly ahead of the S&P 500’s gain. [33]
Interpretation: The market is wrestling with whether AutoZone’s issues are one‑off accounting and tariff noise or the start of a more persistent margin squeeze as consumers and regulators reshape the auto aftermarket.
Microcap meltdown: Work Medical, Agape ATP, ChowChow Cloud lead extreme losers
In pure percentage terms, today’s top US stock losers were dominated by tiny, speculative names rather than household brands. Investing.com’s US screener showed: [34]
- Work Medical Technology (WOK): –96.6% (close around $0.19 after trading as high as $1.78).
- Agape ATP (ATPC): –94.9%, closing near $0.07.
- PomDoctor ADR (POM): –90.8%.
- ChowChow Cloud International (CHOW): –84.3%, swinging between $0.72 and $12.05 intraday.
Context around these names underscores the risks of illiquid microcaps:
- Work Medical (WOK) had already received a Nasdaq delisting notice in October after its share price sat at $0.10 or below for 10 straight days, per prior coverage. TechStock² An AInvest backtest article today used WOK as an example of how devastating a –97% intraday plunge can be for long‑term returns. [35]
- ChowChow Cloud (CHOW) has been under scrutiny after SEC filings highlighted a very short operating history and limited assets, factors that today’s sell‑off appears to have amplified. [36]
Key lesson: In these ultra‑small names, moves of –50% to –95% in a single session often stem from:
- Listing or compliance issues
- Heavily dilutive capital raises
- Low float and speculative trading
rather than the kind of fundamental earnings or macro news that move blue‑chips.
What today’s top losers signal for investors heading into 2026
Even on a day when Fed easing pushed the market toward record highs, the list of top losers shows how company‑specific risk can overwhelm macro tailwinds. [37]
A few themes stand out:
- Structure and capital matters as much as story
- Polestar’s reverse split and Denali’s stock sale show how quickly sentiment can flip when investors fear dilution or distress, even if revenue is growing. [38]
- Earnings quality beats headlines
- AeroVironment and AutoZone both proved that record sales aren’t enough if margins, guidance or key metrics (like same‑store sales) disappoint. [39]
- Regulatory risk is back in focus
- Uber’s sharp drop on European protests, EV policy reversals and trimmed price targets is a reminder that politics and regulation can rerate a stock overnight, even when fundamentals look strong. [40]
- Microcap speculation cuts both ways
- The blow‑ups in WOK, ATPC, POM and CHOW show why professional money often treats such names as trading vehicles, not core holdings. [41]
Things to watch next
- Polestar (PSNY): Can management calm fears around the reverse split and outline a clear path to positive margins and funding?
- AeroVironment (AVAV): Do margins stabilize as integration costs fade, or are investors underpricing long‑term pressure?
- Denali (DNLI): Does the new capital accelerate pipeline milestones enough to justify today’s dilution?
- TMC (TMC): How will regulators and environmental groups shape the timeline for deep‑sea mining commercialization?
- Uber (UBER): Do European regulators soften their stance — or double down — on ride‑hailing rules and EV mandates?
- AutoZone (AZO): Can the company offset tariffs and inventory charges with pricing power and traffic gains?
Important note: This article is for information and news purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All stocks mentioned are highly volatile; anyone considering trading them should do their own research and, where appropriate, consult a qualified financial adviser.
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.tipranks.com, 3. www.tipranks.com, 4. www.investing.com, 5. www.tipranks.com, 6. www.tipranks.com, 7. seekingalpha.com, 8. www.tipranks.com, 9. www.tipranks.com, 10. www.tipranks.com, 11. finviz.com, 12. finviz.com, 13. finviz.com, 14. www.tipranks.com, 15. www.investing.com, 16. www.investing.com, 17. www.marketbeat.com, 18. www.marketbeat.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.tipranks.com, 21. www.marketbeat.com, 22. www.marketbeat.com, 23. stockanalysis.com, 24. www.benzinga.com, 25. www.ainvest.com, 26. www.tradingview.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.barchart.com, 29. www.barchart.com, 30. www.nasdaq.com, 31. www.barchart.com, 32. www.quiverquant.com, 33. www.nasdaq.com, 34. www.investing.com, 35. www.ainvest.com, 36. www.ainvest.com, 37. www.reuters.com, 38. www.tipranks.com, 39. finviz.com, 40. www.ainvest.com, 41. www.investing.com
