Shares of Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc., a maker of bulletproof vests for the military, plunged Friday on lowered guidance and a downgrade.
The stock was down more than 20% on a market value of $550 million in midday New York trading.
Sales guidance for 2009 was lowered to $600 million from $640 million to $650 million, the company said at a conference Thursday after the market close.
The company has been looking to grow other parts of its specialty ceramic business as Pentagon sales have waned.
The stock was also downgraded Friday by Stanford Research due to falling prices in the solar market, a delay in a bulletproof vest order and weakened demand in its industrial market.
Ceradyne had previously lowered its guidance in October after it won a contract to supply $2.4 billion worth of armor to the Army, it’s biggest to date, but had to stop work after British rival BAE Systems PLC protested it.
It also said it had uncertainties over what the presidential administration would mean for new contracts.
Third-quarter profits for Ceradyne were down 41% to $19.4 million. Sales were down 12% from a year ago at $167 million.
Excluding charges, the company made $27.6 million, which was below analysts’ expectation of $30 million.
