Worries about a weakening economy, high energy prices and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe roiled stock markets in the second quarter.
The Bloomberg Colorado Index, which tracks 88 companies based in the state, fell 3.55 percent in the April-to-June period but remains up 2.2 percent for the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average managed to hang onto a 0.77 percent gain in the quarter, while the S&P 500 fell 0.39 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.27 percent.
“It has been like a switch was flipped from risk on to risk off,” said Mike Gegen, a first vice president at RBC Wealth Management in the Denver Tech Center. “I think we got a bit spoiled with the market going out of the gate so strong at the beginning of the year.”
Stocks started the quarter with momentum and rose through late April. They fell hard in May and June but managed to rebound in the past week.
“As the second quarter draws to a close, markets are in a period of uncertainty,” said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock, in an analysis. Doll remains more confident about the second half of the year.
The state’s top-performing stock from April to June was Ampio Pharmaceuticals, a small Greenwood Village company that rose 173.3 percent.
Under the direction of Dr. David Bar-Or, Ampio finds alternative uses for existing drugs and molecules, including treatments for complications from diabetes and sexual dysfunction.
Although the company is more than two decades old and public since March 2010, investors have only recently started to pay attention.
“They are drugs that will not only have a major impact on pain and suffering, but the potential for failure of the trials due to safety concerns is quite low,” said chief executive Don Wingerter.
Level 3 Communications was the second-best performer in the state, with a 66 percent gain in the quarter.
Shares of the Broomfield broadband provider have climbed steadily since mid-April, when it announced a merger with rival Global Crossing.
Other Colorado stocks with strong gains included Heska Corp., Crocs Inc., Ramtron International and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
Concerns over slower economic growth pushed down commodity prices and hit natural-resource companies hard.
Gasco Energy, a gas- and petroleum-exploration company, lost more than half its value in the quarter.
Other companies down 40 percent or more included BioFuel Energy, Delta Petroleum and Evergreen Energy, the state’s top performer in the first quarter.
The quarter’s biggest loser in value was Ascent Solar Technologies, which fell 66.9 percent.
Some well-known Colorado companies ceased trading during the quarter, including Qwest Communications, Emergency Medical Services and VCG Holding Corp.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
