Sony’s (SNE) stock on the NYSE closed at $32 USD today, after dropping more than $18 in just a few months. If things continue on this downward spiral, Sony’s stock will be dangerously flirting with a 10 year low of $23.15 that occurred back in April of 2003. Click on the image above to see a larger graph of Sony’s stock prices for the last 10 years. Even in its smaller form, the image above shows a very unbelievable story. You can almost see the mountain, the empire that sat above, that Sony resided in back in 1999/2000. It’s difficult to remember what it was like to have Sony’s stock worth more than $140 at several points; it has been whittled to so little now. Sony must wish they could live in 1999 again.
While the American economy has been very erratic since 9/11, and especially lately (dropping $945 in the last two days alone) Sony spent the last three years in stable stock prices in the $40 – $50 range. Sony’s seems to have a sweet spot in the aforementioned range as it resides there often, but this downward trend lately has some investors worried. More importantly, SNE is starting to get labeled by some analysts as neutral, which definitely is a huge turn-off.
I think Sony will rebound and is a very solid buy, but only to someone who is patient and must understand that the Holiday season will remind any investor that the company is capable of solid numbers. I could fully see SNE’s stock returning to the $40 – $50 range within the next six to nine months once things cool off with the American economy. Anyone who really reads some of the key articles we present in this site shows that Sony has several long-term strategies established and true ambition to become a worldwide leader in technology by developing a larger presence in developing countries.
However, is it time to buy now, or wait to see how far the American economy crisis will take things in the next couple of months?
