U.S. Steel: And the Cuts Keep Coming

U.S. Steel ( X ) lost a quarter of its value on Wednesday when it reported a surprise loss , and while some analysts have tried to defend the company , others have thrown in the towel. Deustsche Bank , for instance, cut U.S. Steel to Hold from Buy yesterday, and today, Macquarie's Aldo Mazzaferro slashed his rating to Underperform from Neutral, a move that even I could see coming from a mile away. When U.S. Steel reported, Mazzaferro noted that he was " very disappointed ," especially because he had only recently upgraded its shares to Neutral from Underperform. "We remain concerned that the company’s high-fixed costs, amplified by weak volumes and pricing, will continue to keep earnings under pressure in the red," he wrote on Wednesday. So today he returned his rating on U.S. Steel to Underperform. He explains why: