Shares of Deere & Co. tumbled 7.7% in active morning trade Friday, putting them on course for the biggest one-day loss in 6 years, after disappointing fiscal third-quarter results prompted a downgrade at Baird. Volume ballooned to 4.8 million shares, already more than double the full-day average of 2.1 million shares. Analyst Mircea Dobre cut his rating to neutral, after being at outperform since Oct. 31, and dropped his stock price target to $130 from $140. “Stock had a good run, it’s about to get tougher going forward,” Dobre wrote in a note to clients. “We thought 3Q would mark the last big operating beat quarter of FY17 before focus fully shifted to FY18…this proved not to be the case.” Deere reported earlier Friday a quarterly profit that beat expectations, but sales that missed. The stock’s decline Friday was the biggest since it lost 8.1% on Aug. 21, 2015. The stock was still up 10.9% year to date, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has gained 8.1% and the S&P 500 has advanced 8.4%.
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