Area Stocks Plunge With Markets; Few Gainers

Many Valley-area companies got caught up in the plummeting stock markets on Wednesday. The biggest loser was Cinedigm Corp., the Sherman Oaks distributor of entertainment content, whose shares went down by 20 percent on the Nasdaq. Shares in Semtech, the Camarillo semiconductor manufacturer, decreased by 10 percent, while Interlink Electronics Inc. dropped by more than 8 percent and oil and gas exploration firm California Resources Corp. went down by more than 7 percent. Walt Disney Co., the largest public company in the Valley area, went down by more than 5 percent. The other big local company, Amgen Inc., plunged by less than 5 percent. Not all was bleak when it came to Valley area companies, particularly those in real estate. PS Business Parks, in Glendale went up by nearly 7 percent; Public Storage, also in Glendale increased by nearly 2 percent while LTC Properties Inc., in Westlake Village was up just more than 1 percent. American Homes 4 Rent, in Agoura Hills, increased at a fraction of one percent. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 608 points, or 2.4 percent. The Nasdaq was particularly hurt, plunging 329 points or 4.4 percent. The S&P 500 went down nearly 85 points or 3.1 percent.