The announcement of a potential sale of common stock typically leads to concerns about share dilution among existing shareholders, which can put downward pressure on the stock price in the short term. However, the raised capital could be used for positive developments such as growth initiatives or debt reduction, which might be beneficial in the long term. The impact score is -1 due to the immediate dilution concern, with high relevance as the news directly pertains to AEP. The importance is significant as $1.7 billion is a substantial amount, and the confidence in this analysis is high given the typical market reaction to such announcements.