Poultry producers' shares fell Tuesday after federal farming officials confirmed avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Boone County, Arkansas.
Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN fell more than 4 percent to $37.92, while Sanderson Farms, Inc. SAFM traded down about 5.5 percent to $77.94.
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation PPC dropped 7.9 percent to $24.42.
Earlier Tuesday, officials also confirmed avian flu virus in two separate commercial turkey flocks in Missouri.
The reports, from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said health officials consider the risk to people from these infections to be low.
Shares of vaccine makers appeared unaffected Tuesday.
Arkansas poultry was temporarily banned in Russia, China, Japan and Hong Kong in 2013 in the wake of a large bird flu outbreak.
Tyson shares are off more than 10 percent since McDonald's Corporation MCD said last week it will phase out the use of antibiotics in chicken products. Antibiotics don't affect influenza.
Tyson told Reuters Tuesday it is reducing the amount of the drugs it uses in chicken feed.
Image credit: Public Domain
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
