Analyst Downgrades: American Airlines, Dean Foods

Analysts are weighing in today on flying enthusiast American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), food and beverage concern Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF), and online travel firm Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AAL, DF, and TRIP.

• After taking a hit yesterday, AAL is down once again. The shares are 0.7% lower this morning at $43.48, after BofA-Merrill Lynch lowered its outlook to "neutral." The stock has been getting hammered in 2015, dropping 18.9%. Unfortunately for shareholders, American Airlines Group Inc may not be in the clear yet. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of of 5.51 is only 8 percentage points from an annual high. Plus, 10 of 13 brokerage firms say the equity is a "buy" or better. In other words, AAL could face headwinds if option traders or analysts change their bullish tune.


• Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on DF to "equal weight" from "overweight," and now the shares are off 1.8% at $18.19. On the charts, Dean Foods Co has managed to outdo the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 14 percentage points in the past 20 sessions, and short-term option traders are now more call-skewed than normal. The security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.41 is lower than 82% of all readings from the past year. This also means that call open interest more than doubles put open interest among options expiring within three months.


• Barclays weighed in on a number of online names overnight, and for TRIP this meant a new "underweight" rating and a $68 price target -- marking a discount to current levels. On top of this, Pacific Crest resumed coverage on the stock with a "sector weight" opinion. Tripadvisor Inc is 0.03% lower today at $76.30, as it clings to its slim 2015 lead. Most analysts have already taken a wait-and-see approach, as 14 brokerage firms say the shares are a "hold," with six others calling them a "strong buy," and one saying they're a "sell." However, TRIP's consensus 12-month price target of $88.83 stands at a 16.4% premium to its current perch, suggesting future price-target cuts could be in the cards.