Shares of Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ,
were down 4.6% in morning trading Monday, changing hands at $32.46. The stock was on track for its lowest close since Dec. 1, 2010, when it finished at $32.35, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The shares are on pace to log their eighth straight session of declines, tracking toward their longest losing streak since Sept. 8, 2017, when they fell for nine trading days in a row. The recent weakness in Verizon shares comes amid concerns brought upon by The Wall Street Journal’s recent reporting on the legacy use of lead-sheathed cables within the telecommunications industry. Analysts have flagged that there’s heavy uncertainty about potential implications for telecommunications companies, which could serve as an overhang on shares of AT&T Inc., Verizon and others. “We have not seen, nor have regulators identified, evidence that legacy lead-sheathed telecom cables are a leading cause of lead exposure or the cause of a public health issue,” said a spokesperson for USTelecom, a trade association that counts Verizon and AT&T as members, in a statement last week.
