Analyst Downgrades: FireEye, QUALCOMM, Autodesk

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on FireEye Inc (FEYE), QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM), and Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK)

Nov 9, 2015 at 9:57 AM

Analysts are weighing in on cybersecurity issue FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE), as well as tech concerns QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on FEYE, QCOM, and ADSK.

FEYE is up 1.3% at $24.15, after Imperial Capital hacked its price target to $32 from $55. Last week was a rough one for FireEye Inc; the stock plummeted to a record low of $21.75 on Thursday, as traders jeered a downwardly revised full-year revenue forecast. Despite the stock's second-half descent -- the equity has lost more than half its value since peaking above $55 in mid-June -- FEYE calls have been more popular than usual lately. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.57 stands higher than 70% of all other readings from the past year. Should FEYE continue its slide, a mass exodus of option bulls could exacerbate selling pressure.

QCOM is down 1.2% at $52.82, after Nomura downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy" and sliced its price target to $60 from $75. As with FEYE, QUALCOMM, Inc. is just off a rough earnings week, which sent the stock south of $50 for the first time in four years. Additional downgrades could pressure QCOM even lower. Currently, half of the 22 brokerage firms following the stock consider it a "buy" or better.

UBS cut its rating on ADSK to "neutral," but lifted its price target to $65 from $56. The downgrade is surprising, considering the stock has outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 29 percentage points over the last 40 sessions, and is on the doorstep of its late-February record high of $65 -- despite being down 1.2% this morning at $63.09. Traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX have been betting on a move into previously uncharted waters. Autodesk, Inc.'s 10-day call/put volume ratio across those exchanges weighs in at a top-heavy 36.78, with nearly 37 calls bought to open for each put during the previous two weeks. What's more, this ratio ranks in the bullish 95th percentile of its annual range.

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