The fallout from the what might be the largest ever hack of U.S. Social Security numbers continues for credit-reporting company Equifax Inc. Its stock tumbled another 5 percent Wednesday, making it the day’s worst performing stock in the broad S&P 500 index. The company’s shares are also the index’s worst performer over the last month, dropping more than 22 percent.
It’s a sharp turn of events for the company, which had seen its share price rise roughly 20 percent this year. But that was before last week, when it reported a large security breach that exposed the personal information of as many as 143 million U.S. consumers, including names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security numbers.Now it’s Equifax that’s facing exposure, to both legal action and increased government regulation, which could added unwanted costs to the company’s operations. Several law firms have announced suits against the company. The House Financial Services Committee and Energy and Commerce Committee announced they will hold hearings on the breach.And then there’s the matter of the three executives who sold Equifax stock in between the time the breach was discovered and when it was announced, sending shares plummeting. Equifax has said the the executives did not know about the breach when they sold, but members of the senate are calling for an investigation. Several state attorneys general have also said they plan to investigate, raising the risk of further litigation.In short, it’s a mess.On the other hand, if you believe that the company continues to have a great business model—one of the largest credit monitoring companies in the debt-driven U.S. economy—that will re-emerge after the the hack distractions dissipate, this selloff could be a buying opportunity.