The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates, noting that “some” further rate hikes would be necessary in the next 12 months.
Investors reacted angrily, sending general indices on Wall Street southward.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day at 23,323.66, dipping 351.98 points. The S&P 500 fell by 39.2 points, to 2506.96. Nasdaq was off by 147.08 points, to 6,636.83.
For many media companies and those working with radio and TV, the day was damning.
Veritone Inc. shares are in a virtual meltdown. The AI-powered attribution firm saw its shares tumble by 9.5% on Wednesday, landing at $4.55. Volume was 864,243 shares; normal volume is 334,973.
On June 11, a $23.06 close was seen for Veritone, which is reportedly mulling a proposed acquisition of the company by Apis Capital Management.
On Dec. 12, New York law firm Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. opened an investigation into potential claims against the board of directors at Veritone.
The investigation focuses on whether Veritone and its board of directors violated the federal securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to the company’s stockholders by failing to conduct a fair process and whether and by how much the proposed transaction undervalues the company.
Meanwhile, Beasley Media Group shares fell to just $3.89 per share.
That’s takes BBGI back to a price last seen in April 2016, and just 42 cents above its five-year low, seen in January 2016.
Entercom shares are at $5.94, falling a penny.
For Cumulus Media, a 7 cent gain to $10.78 was seen following an upgrade of the company’s stock from Noble Financial Director of Research Michael Kupinski. He upgraded the company from market perform to outperform, and believes Cumulus stock could go as high as $14.
