What happened
Shares of Windstream Holdings (NASDAQ: WIN) dropped by 10.8% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence , after an analyst at JP Morgan downgraded the company's shares from Neutral to Underweight.
So what
Investors were already fleeing Windstream after the company's tumultuous 2017. The regional telecom company missed nearly all of Wall Street's earnings consensus estimates last year and caught investors off guard when it eliminated its dividend in late 2017. All of that caused Windstream's stock to fall nearly 75% last year, and that carried over into January with JP Morgan's downgrade.

Image source: Getty Images.
Analyst Philip Cusick said that the company will face near- and long-term problems as it tries to fight off increasing competition from cable and satellite competitors. Cusick believes the competition could end up taking up to 60% of Windstream's current customers.
Investors had clearly already been cooling to Windstream's stock, and the analyst's comments continued to erode hope that the company is on the right path.
Now what
Windstream's shares have continued to slide this month and have already fallen by about 5% as of this writing. The company's management said it was optimistic about Windstream's future on its third-quarter earnings call back in November -- but investors are having a hard time buying the growth story that Windstream's leadership is selling.
10 stocks we like better than Windstream
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor , has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Windstream wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
Click here to learn about these picks!
*Stock Advisor returns as of February 5, 2018
Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.