Verizon (VZ) Shares Lead Telecoms Fall After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and other telecom stocks fell after the brokerage FBR Research downgraded Verizon's stock from outperform to market perform.

The downgraded was preceded by Verizon stating that the U.S. economy was not recovering as quickly as they had estimated. Verizon. Verizon cautioned investors regarding the 2010 outlook after it released its 4th quarter results.

Other carriers like CenturyTel Inc. (NYSE: CTL) and Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq: WIN) were also down but AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) bucked the trend as its shares moved slightly upwards.