Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on Twitter Inc (TWTR), Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), and Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX)
Analysts are weighing in on microblogging platform Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), chipmaker Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), and transportation concern Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on TWTR, MU, and DSX.
- TWTR is off 1.3% pre-market, after Evercore ISI cut its price target by $3 to $22. Technically speaking, this is more of the same for a stock that's shed 30.5% in 2015, settling yesterday at $24.92. Traders have been rolling the dice on upside in recent weeks, per data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Twitter Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio across those exchanges is 3.44, which ranks higher than 86% of comparable readings from the past 12 months. Echoing this, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.50 sits at an annual low, suggesting short-term speculators have never been so call-focused. Should TWTR continue to sink, though, a capitulation among these bulls could result in further headwinds.
- Traders have also taken a glass-half-full approach to MU, based on its 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 3.25 -- in the 81st percentile of its annual range. Not everyone's so confident in the shares, though, with Nomura and Mizuho both cutting their price targets to $15, just a day after Micron Technology, Inc. agreed to buy out the rest of Taiwan-based chipmaker Inotera Memories Inc. Who can blame these analysts for being skeptical? The stock has shed 61% year-to-date to trade at $13.66, and now sits just above its two-year low of $13.50 from late August. In pre-market trading, though, MU is perched 0.4% higher. Looking forward, the company will report earnings one week from tonight.
- DSX -- which has lost 43% year-to-date to trade at $3.83, and one week ago hit a record low of $3.68 -- is bracing for a 3% drop at the open. Sparking the pre-market jitters are price-target cuts to $3 and $3.25 at Morgan Stanley and UBS, respectively. In options land, traders have been wagering on downside for Diana Shipping Inc. Specifically, the stock's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 2.18 rests a mere 3 percentage points from a 52-week peak. In other news, DSX announced it will continue time charter agreements with RWE and Cargill.