What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the morning session after markets continued to decline, as investors grew cautious ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. 

The move came as U.S. equity markets recorded a fifth consecutive day of losses for major indexes like the S&P 500, with technology stocks experiencing the largest declines. Investors have grown wary that the sharp rally in the tech sector since April may have advanced too far. The market-wide caution is largely driven by the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, a meeting of central bankers, where traders are anxiously awaiting Fed Chair Powell's speech on Friday for guidance on the future path of interest rates.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Surgical Equipment & Consumables - Specialty company Integra LifeSciences (NASDAQ: IART) fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Integra LifeSciences? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Drug Development Inputs & Services company IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy IQVIA? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Research Tools & Consumables company Avantor (NYSE: AVTR) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Avantor? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Specialty Retail company National Vision (NASDAQ: EYE) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy National Vision? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Travel and Vacation Providers company United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy United Airlines? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Integra LifeSciences (IART)

Integra LifeSciences’s shares are very volatile and have had 29 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock gained 9% on the news that positive inflation data fueled hopes for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed inflation rose by a modest 0.2% in July and 2.7% over the last year. This cooler-than-expected data prompted a significant market rally, with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all climbing as investors grew more optimistic. The prevailing view is that easing inflation gives the central bank room to lower interest rates. Lower rates typically reduce borrowing costs for businesses and make stocks more attractive relative to bonds, contributing to widespread gains across sectors like healthcare.

Integra LifeSciences is down 39.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $13.91 per share, it is trading 47.9% below its 52-week high of $26.70 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Integra LifeSciences’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $294.72.

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