AIG Plunges on Credit Suisse Downgrade
NEW YORK (
) -- After months of trying to cut itself down to size,
American International Group
(AIG) - Get Report
has had someone else do it for them. The flailing insurer was downgraded by Credit Suisse on Tuesday to underperform from neutral, and its price target was halved to $15 from $30.
Shares of the company tumbled 4% in pre-market trading to $38.34, then fell further in early morning trading, changing hands at $36.38, down by more than 9%.
The downgrade comes after the
stock ran up more than 250% in August
, a move derided by many as pure speculation.
Credit Suisse said AIG's near-term monetization of the group's core businesses would leave "little to no value" for common equity holders.
Despite new CEO Robert Benmosche's earlier comments that he will slow down the sale of assets, AIG is moving ahead with the divesting of some major divisions.
AIG announced over the weekend that it had sold one major asset-management unit for an estimated $500 million. Reports circulated on Monday that
AIG is moving ahead with deals
for several major life-insurance units as well.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York
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