Analyst Downgrades: Alphabet Inc, Nordstrom, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Josh Selway

Apr 22, 2016 at 9:37 AM

Analysts are weighing in on Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), retailer Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN), and Dow stock Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on GOOGL, JWN, and MSFT.

GOOGL is 3.8% lower out of the gate at $750.20, after the company's first-quarter revenue and profit failed to meet analysts' expectations. This prompted no fewer than 12 brokerage firms to lower their price targets on Alphabet Inc, with the lowest mark coming from Raymond James at $820 -- still in all-time-high territory. (Macquarie, meanwhile, raised its price target to $890 from $870.) The stock has added almost 35% in the last 12 months, surely one reason why there's hardly any bearish sentiment on Wall Street. For example, short interest represents just 0.6% of GOOGL's float -- and would take just two days to cover, at the average pace of trading.
JWN got smacked with a downgrade to "sell" this morning from Evercore ISI, which also lowered its price target to $40 from $50 -- territory the stock hasn't explored in over four years. This downgrade comes after a 27% year-over-year decline from Nordstrom, Inc., last seen at $53.17. Evercore's outlook matches the general opinion on the Street. Specifically, 10 of 17 brokerage firms covering JWN say it's a "hold" or worse. Moreover, UBS back in February set its price target at $58 for the stock -- a level that's offered stiff resistance for the shares in the past six months.
Like fellow tech heavyweight GOOGL, MSFT missed the mark with its quarterly profit and revenue. MSFT has since been hit with price-target cuts from BMO, Cowen, RBC, Macquarie, and Goldman Sachs -- with the latter setting its price target at $54. Against this backdrop, Microsoft Corporation has dropped 6.4% to $52.21, with the shares recently topping out just below their 16-year high of $56.85 from December. MSFT could face additional headwinds, too, if one of the 13 brokerage firms currently maintaining a "buy" or better decides to downgrade the stock after this setback.

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