Why Shares of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Plunged 14% Today

What: Shares of specialty metals maker Allegheny Technologies Incorporated dropped 14% on Tuesday after third-quarter revenue missed expectations.

So what: Management said the company lost $144.6 million in the quarter, or $1.35 per share. Although adjusted for one-time items, the loss was just $0.29 per share, a penny ahead of expectations.

What investors were disappointed in was revenue of $832.7 million, well short of the $964.1 million analysts expected. Worse yet, management said, "At this point we see no significant improvement in our major end markets until 2016."

Now what: Allegheny is trying to cut costs as fast as possible, but the deterioration in end markets is happening faster than anyone expected. Oil and gas demand for high-performance materials and components was down 34% sequentially, and flat-rolled product demand was down 60%. Mining is also struggling as commodity prices plunge.

I don't see any upside here, and with losses likely well into 2016, this is a stock I would watch from the sidelines for signs of improvement before jumping in.

The article Why Shares of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Plunged 14% Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium 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.