Annaly Capital's Stock Tumbles On Heavy Volume After Large Share Offering

Shares of Annaly Capital Management Inc. tumbled 4.4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company announced a large public offering. Volume topped 4 million shares about 90 minutes before the open, making the stock the most actively traded in the premarket. Annaly, which invests in and finances residential and commercial assets, said late Monday it plans to sell 60 million shares of common stock, and grant the underwriters of the offering options to buy up to an additional 9 million shares. If the all the options are exercised, the number of shares outstanding would increase by about 6.8%. Annaly plans to use to proceeds from the offering to buy assets under its capital allocation policy and for general corporate purposes. The stock had run up 23% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 had gained 9.8%.