SINA Shares Dropped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Chinese mobile and online portal SINA (NAS: SINA) lost signal today, falling as much as 16.1% on heavy trading.

So what: This stock is caught in a three-way perfect storm today: Some analysts worry about a slowing Chinese economy, others see drastic downside changes resulting from new regulation of variable-interest entities, and still others panic over the Department of Justice, SEC, and FBI investigating suspected Chinese accounting frauds.

Now what: There might be something to two of those big-picture worries, but I wouldn't accuse SINA of fraud. The SEC is more worried about "now you see them, now you don't" gadflies hoping to grab a quick buck from an American IPO and then flame out in a blaze of founder-enriching infamy. SINA has a long operating and market history, including a seven-year stint on our Stock Advisor scorecard, and doesn't fit that profile at all.

Interested in more information about SINA? Add it to My Watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of SINA. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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