Analyst Downgrades: Macy's, Freshpet, and US Steel

Analysts are weighing in on retailer Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M), pet food fanatic Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ:FRPT), and steel giant United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on M, FRPT, and X.

• After getting slaughtered and hitting two-year lows following Wednesday's disappointing trip to the earnings confessional, M is down another 1% ahead of the open, as analysts keep piling on. Evercore ISI cut its opinion to "hold" from "buy," while no fewer than six price-target cuts have come down the pike since yesterday's close. At $40.44, Macy's, Inc. is now 38.5% lower in 2015, and could be in store for more losses as option traders unwind their positions. That is, M's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) sits at 0.57, lower than 92% of all readings from the past year. Said differently, call open interest significantly outweighs put open interest among options expiring in three months or less. 

• After revealing poor quarterly numbers and lowering its full-year outlook, FRPT is set to open 23.5% in the red, at a new all-time low. This would be nothing new for the shares, though; they've already lost more than half their value since their July debut, sitting at $8.37. Credit Suisse lowered its outlook on Freshpet Inc to "neutral" from "outperform," while more than halving its price target to $9 from $19. Five other brokerage firms also lowered their price targets on the stock, and the bearish attention might not stop there. Six of seven covering analysts still rate FRPT a "strong buy." 

• X is set to open 2.4% lower, after Barclays trimmed its price target to $15 from $14. The equity has been getting crushed recently, hitting an all-time low of $9.66 in early October, and closing at $10.12 on Wednesday. As such, it's not surprising to see elevated short interest on United States Steel Corporation. Almost 39% of the stock's float is sold short, accounting for over a week's worth of buying power, at the equity's normal daily volumes.