The movie “Dark Waters” about the effect of deadly chemicals in West Virginia is “very damaging” for DuPont de Nemours Inc., Wall Street analysts at Fermium Research wrote in a report before its theatrical debut on November 22.
Analyst Frank Mitsch -- who watched a sneak preview -- thinks that “Dark Waters” will probably be a hit film and may cast a shadow over DuPont shares and the entire chemical industry. The movie focuses on DuPont and Chemours Co.’s already-settled litigation over perfluorooctanoic acid production.
DuPont’s shares fell as much as 2.7% on Friday in New York, while broader market inched higher.
“We can see a scenario where interest in DD from individual investors (85% institutional ownership according to Bloomberg) dissipates, though also a broader concern for the chemicals sector given the negative portrayal,” he added.The number of companies targeted by Hollywood biopics over the years is actually pretty high, but it's amusing to think about the effects of a movie on a stock price...
(Anyone seen the movie? I'm planning on streaming it at some point in the future.)
ReplyDeleteBelow are some links to articles about DuPont and PFOA. They were from the Wikipedia article on the film Dark Waters.
https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/welcome-to-beautiful-parkersburg/
https://theintercept.com/collections/bad-chemistry/
I think we're looking at a repeat of the era of Love Canal, the Exxon Valdez, etc. Too many high-profile incidents in the last couple of years.
ReplyDelete