Berkshire shares stumble after run of record highs

Berkshire shares stumble after run of record highs

A string of record high closes continued into this week for both classes of Berkshire Hathaway’s stock.

Unlike last Friday, however, when there was a lot to celebrate, the party soured as this holiday-shortened week came to a close.

On Tuesday, the Class A shares ended at $715,910, their eighth consecutive all-time high. They had soared 6.9% since the streak began on August 22.

But after a small drop on Wednesday and much bigger declines yesterday and today, more than half of the 8-day price increase has been erased.

The A shares finished the week at $689,287, down 3.7% from Tuesday’s close, but still up almost 3% overall.

The more widely held B shares kept climbing the hill for one additional day, notching nine straight record high closes.

The Wednesday finish of $478.57 was up 7.2% from August 22.

But they erased 60% of their price gains yesterday and today to close at $459.42, down 4.0% from Wednesday’s close, and up 2.9% overall.

Berkshire’s market value, which went above $1 trillion for the first time last week, was a record high $1.03 trillion at Wednesday’s close, but is now back to just 12 digits at a bit more than $990 billion.

Berkshire’s sell-off came after a Barron’s story was published about an hour before Wednesday’s close with the headline, “Berkshire Stock Looks Pricey After Record Run Above $1 Trillion.”

Andrew Bary wrote, “Investors continue to pile into Berkshire Hathaway stock even as its valuation rises to multiyear highs and CEO Warren Buffett signals caution on the shares and the overall market.”