Sears Shares Fall on Downgrade

Shares of Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) fell as much as 6% Friday after Imperial Capital recommended investors sell the stock.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer was slapped with an 'underperform' rating and a $6 long-term price objective by Imperial Capital, citing an under-funded pension plan and deteriorating operating performance.

Sears is the parent company of Sears and Kmart chain stores, selling a variety of goods under brands such as Joe Boxer, Kenmore and Craftsman. The retailer has been struggling to perform under renewed economic fears and sharply higher raw material costs, saying last month that its third-quarter loss was bigger than it had expected.

The company has been trying to turn itself around by cutting jobs and tightening expenses. It has closed several under-performing stores and launched exclusive lines to try and boost revenues.