Analyst Downgrades: Activision, Ford, and Google

Analysts are weighing in today on video game maker Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), automaker Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), and online search giant Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on ATVI, F, and GOOGL.

• Brean Capital trimmed its price target on ATVI to $25 from $26, but maintained its "buy" rating. On the charts, the shares have advanced a respectable 7.5% year-to-date to trade at $19.17. Meanwhile, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open nearly 10 Activision Blizzard, Inc. calls for every put during the past two weeks. The resultant 10-day call/put volume ratio across this trio of exchanges is 9.77, in the 84th percentile of its annual range.


• F, which is reportedly prepared to inject more than $5 billion into resurrecting its Lincoln brand, got hit with another pair of bearish brokerage notes this morning. Specifically, Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the stock to $16 from $18 (while maintaining its "buy" rating), and Credit Suisse slashed its outlook to $13.50 from $15.50 (while maintaining its "neutral" assessment). On the charts, shares of Ford Motor Company are off nearly 22% year-over-year at $13.78, and hit a fresh annual low of $13.26 earlier this month. Nevertheless, Wall Street is evenly split on the security. Half of the 14 analysts covering F have doled out a "buy" or better endorsement, while the rest have handed out either a "hold" or "strong sell" opinion.


• Finally, Monness Crespi Hardt initiated coverage on GOOGL with a "neutral" rating and $605 price target -- representing expected upside of 10.2% from Friday's close at $548.90. Taking a step back, the shares are sitting about 2% south of year-to-date breakeven. That said, it wouldn't be surprising to see the brokerage bunch continue to shift gears on Google Inc, via a round of downgrades and/or price-target cuts. Twenty-seven out of the 30 analysts following the stock have given it a "buy" or better rating, compared to a trio of "holds" and not a single "sell" recommendation. What's more, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $652.91 stands in territory yet to be explored by GOOGL.