Analyst Downgrades: Amazon.com, Inc., Yahoo! Inc., and Chevron Corporation

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)

Karee Venema

Mar 22, 2016 at 9:44 AM

Analysts are weighing in on e-commerce concern Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Internet stock Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), and oil-and-gas issue Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AMZN, YHOO, and CVX.

AMZN is down 0.2% at $552.81, after Raymond James lowered its outlook to "outperform" from "strong buy" and slashed its price target to $655 from $760. On the charts, the shares have been trending lower since topping out at an all-time peak of $696.44 in late December. These technical troubles were highlighted last week, when the stock was quickly rejected by its 60-day moving average, a trendline that helped support the shares throughout 2015. Should Amazon.com, Inc. continue to struggle, the door is wide open for another round of downgrades -- which could pressure the shares even lower. Currently, 84% of covering analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found.

Citigroup cut its rating on YHOO to "neutral" from "buy," while boosting its price target to $37 from $32. Out of the gate, the stock is off 1.2% at $35.06. Longer term, though, YHOO has been making a comeback since bottoming at a two-year low of $26.15 on Feb. 11, up 35% -- amid reports Yahoo! Inc. is considering strategic alternatives. Speculative players, meanwhile, have shown a distinct preference for calls over puts among options slated to expire in three months or less. In fact, YHOO's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.31 rests at an annual low.

CVX was the biggest loser on the Dow yesterday, and the stock is lower once again today. Specifically, the shares are off 0.7% at $95.77, after Raymond James dropped its rating to "market perform" from "outperform." Falling crude futures are also weighing on the stock. However, today's price move runs counter to the equity's recent trajectory, with the shares of CVX up 27% from their Jan. 20 year-to-date low of $75.33. In the options pits, meanwhile, long puts have been popular in recent months. Today's downgrade notwithstanding, analysts have remained upbeat toward Chevron Corporation. In fact, 11 maintain a "buy" or better rating, versus four "holds."

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