Mystery Sell-Off in IT Stock May Have Been Due to Ticker Mixup

Small-cap IT stock NIC Inc. may have been the victim of mistaken identity.

Shares of the government-services contractor fell almost 10 percent on Monday on more than six times the average trading volume for no apparent reason. Barrington Research analyst Gary Prestopino says the decline may have been the result of some traders confusing the company, whose ticker symbol is EGOV, with Government Properties Income Trust, which trades under the ticker GOV. The latter fell 25 percent on Monday after announcing plans to acquire Select Income REIT in an all-stock transaction.