Market Insider

Tyson Foods shares plunge after lowered rating

Tyson Foods' frozen chicken products.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tyson Foods dropped nearly 10 percent Friday after Pivotal Research lowered its rating on the company's stock to "sell" from "buy."

The stock recovered some of those losses, but still ended the day down nearly 9 percent.

The rating change was based on analyst Timothy Ramey's view of a the class action suit of Tyson conspiring with companies to cut production of broiler chickens by adjusting prices. Ramey also cut his price target on the beef and poultry producer's stock to $40 from $100.

In response to Pivotal's analysis, Tyson said "We dispute the allegations in the complaints as well as the speculative conclusions reached by the analyst, and we will defend ourselves in court" in a press release Friday.

Tyson Foods five-day performance:

Earlier this week, Tyson agreed to pay .