Why Tyson Foods, Inc. Stock Plunged Today

So what

More specifically, Pivotal Research Group's Tim Ramey lowered his rating on Tyson Foods from "buy" to "sell" and simultaneously reduced his per-share price target from $100 to $40.

To justify his new bearish stance, Ramey pointed to a "powerfully convincing" class action lawsuit filed early last month alleging that Tyson had colluded with several other companies in the broiler chicken business to reduce production and increase prices since 2008.

Ramey added, "We have long wondered how an industry marked by such volatility and lack of discipline could morph to a highly disciplined industry where production remains constrained and pricing remains high."

Now what

That said, Tyson Foods also took a surprising step today, issuing a press release to rebut Ramey's call by stating:

To be fair, Tyson Foods is innocent until proven guilty. And apart from highlighting Ramey's vote of confidence in the merit of the suit, today's downgrade didn't add any new information that hadn't already been brought to light since the suit was filed. For now, I think investors should continue to focus first on Tyson Foods' actual business.

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Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.