Analyst Downgrades: American Water Works Company Inc, Boeing Co, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on American Water Works Company Inc (AWK), Boeing Co (BA), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (VRX)

Mar 2, 2016 at 9:47 AM

Analysts are weighing in on utilities firm American Water Works Company Inc (NYSE:AWK), aerospace issue Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), and drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AWK, BA, and VRX.

Apparently, Baird isn't impressed with last night's news that AWK will replace CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) on the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Specifically, the brokerage hit the water stock with a downgrade to "neutral" from "outperform." Nonetheless, American Water Works Company Inc is 4.1% higher out of the gate at $67.98, a chip-shot from last week's record high of $68.49. While Baird isn't a fan of the shares, plenty of other analysts are. Two-thirds of covering brokerage firms rate AWK a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" opinion on the books.

Following a remark from BA Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth that the mid-market presents a "tough business case" for airplane manufacturers, Wolfe Research lowered its assessment of the stock to "peer perform" from "outperform." However, the shares have managed to edge higher to trade at $120.03, as they attempt to recover from their two-year low of $102.10, notched less than a month ago. Meanwhile, short-term option speculators are more put-focused than usual toward Boeing Co. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.82 sits in the high 89th percentile of its annual range.

In what's becoming a daily routine, VRX has received more negative analyst attention. This time, Canaccord Genuity downgraded its rating to "hold" from "buy," and cut its price target $50 to $75. In other news, Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EYEG) said it's received an additional milestone payment from Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc for its development of an experiment eye inflammation drug. Out of the gate, the stock is 4% higher at $68.05, but has already lost 33% in 2016. Additional downgrades remain a possibility, as nine analysts maintain "strong buy" endorsements on VRX, compared to six "holds" and just one "strong sell."

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