Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Schlumberger Limited (SLB), and Sunedison Inc (SUNE)
Analysts are weighing in today on chipmaker Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), energy issue Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB), and solar stock Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on MU, SLB, and SUNE.
- MU is down nearly 59% year-to-date at $14.44, and analysts are starting to take notice. Just a day after Susquehanna lowered its price target on the stock -- pressuring it to a two-year low of $13.50 in the ensuing session -- Mizuho Securities slashed its price target to $16 from $20.50. More negative notes could be in store for Micron Technology, Inc., too. Of the 28 analysts tracking the underperformer, 17 have doled out "buy" or better ratings, with not a single "sell" opinion on record. Plus, MU's consensus 12-month price target of $26.89 stands at an 86% premium to Monday's close.
- SLB and at least a couple of its sector peers drew the ire of UBS this morning. Specifically, the brokerage firm cut its price target on Schlumberger Limited by $10 to $100 -- though this is still more than 35% above last night's settlement at $73.87. Meanwhile, option traders are extremely put-focused toward the equity, which boasts a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.00 -- with long puts doubling calls among options expiring in the next three months. More significantly, this SOIR ranks in the top percentile of its annual range. On the charts, SLB has done little to warrant any confidence, losing 13.5% year-to-date and hitting a two-year low of $73.02 yesterday.
- SUNE plunged to an annual low of $9.04 yesterday before settling a penny higher at $10.73 -- but still down 45% on the year. Monday's epic reversal wasn't enough to spare the shares from a downgrade to "neutral" at UBS. Elsewhere, short sellers have been piling on Sunedison Inc for quite some time, with more than 72 million shares sold short, or 27.3% of its total float. At SUNE's average trading volume, it would take roughly one week to repurchase all these bearish positions.
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