Analyst Downgrades: Abercrombie, Chipotle, Shake Shack

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG), and Shake Shack Inc (SHAK)

Feb 9, 2015 at 9:21 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on teen apparel destination Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), as well as restaurant chains Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and Shake Shack Inc (NYSE:SHAK). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on ANF, CMG, and SHAK.

ANF was downgraded to the equivalent of a "sell" rating at BofA-Merrill Lynch and Wunderlich Securities, with the latter also slashing its price target to $17 from $30. As such, the shares -- which have already dropped 25.7% year-over-year to trade at $25.78 -- are sitting 5.7% lower ahead of the bell. This bearish brokerage attention is more of the same for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Seventeen out of the 24 analysts tracking the stock have doled out a "hold" opinion, compared to just seven "buy" or better recommendations.

Citigroup cut its price target on CMG to $782 from $809, despite the equity's more than 20% year-over-year advance to perch at $659.92. This negative note follows news that the company's Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) account was hacked Sunday morning. Taking a step back, despite last week's earnings-induced drop, the stock has been a long-term technical outperformer, and options traders see more upside ahead. Specifically, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.'s 50-day call/put volume ratio across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) checks in at 1.09 -- just 1 percentage point from a 12-month high.

Wall Street newcomer SHAK was started with an "underperform" rating at Longbow Research. The brokerage firm also doled out a $21 price target, which stands at a nearly 50% discount to the current price of $41.96. Since an impressive public debut less than two weeks ago, Shake Shack Inc has struggled, slipping 8.6% from its initial closing price. In fact, since topping out at $52.50 on their first day of trading, the shares haven't come close to sniffing the $50 level again. Ahead of the bell, SHAK is 4.8% lower.

Follow @Schaeffers

Minimize Risk While Maximizing Profits

There is no options strategy like this one, which consistently minimizes risk while maintaining maximum profits. Perfect for traders looking for ways to control risk, reduce losses, and increase the likelihood of success when trading calls and puts. The Schaeffer’s team has over 41 years of options trading success targeting +100% gains on every trade. Rest assured your losses are effectively limited to your initial cost at the time of making your move! Don't waste another second... join us right now before the next trade is released!