Underperform

An investment that is not keeping up with other securities. In a bull market, for example, a stock is underperforming if its gains are less than or equal to those of the S&P 500 Index. In a bear market a stock is underperforming if it declines more quickly than the overall market. Underperform is also a type of analyst rating which is given when shares of a company are anticipated to perform marginally worse than the market return. The label is also referred to as weak hold or moderate sale in the market.