Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), and Twitter Inc (TWTR)
Analysts are weighing in on tech giant
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), restaurant stock
Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD), and social media concern Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AAPL, BWLD, and TWTR. - AAPL is set to drop 8.1% at the open, after the company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that missed expectations on the Street. The brokerage crowd has been quick to respond. Goldman Sachs removed Apple Inc. from its "Americas Conviction Buy" list and cut its price target to $136, and Oppenheimer downgraded the stock's rating to "perform" from "outperform," noting the "weaker performance seen in this quarter is likely to recur until 2017's iPhone launch." Meanwhile, no fewer than 14 other analysts lowered their price targets on AAPL, with Macquarie setting the lowest target, at $112. After closing at $104.35 on Tuesday, AAPL is poised to see the underside of the century level with today's anticipated drop -- the first the time the shares have dipped into the double digits since early March. A sharp downside move would play right into the hands of bearish option traders, who had been eyeing the $100 level heading into last night's report.
- BWLD also missed quarterly earnings predictions, spurring at least 11 brokerage firms to cut their price targets on the stock. Credit Suisse lowered its target to $120 -- a 17% discount to Buffalo Wild Wings' Tuesday close of $144.62. The shares are sitting 13.2% lower in electronic trading, on pace to hit a new annual low, and this potential dip may be just what options traders have been waiting for. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), BWLD's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 4.19 sits higher than 96% of all readings taken in the past year.
- TWTR turned in another disappointing quarterly earnings report, sending the shares down 14.7% ahead of the bell, as revenue and user growth came up short of expectations. The stock is getting smacked with a round of mostly bearish brokerage notes, including a downgrade to "neutral" from "overweight" at J.P. Morgan Securities, and no fewer than 18 price-target cuts. Goldman Sachs and Mizuho Securities were the only firms to buck the trend, raising their targets to $22 and $16, respectively. A fall on the charts today will mark the fifth consecutive quarter in which Twitter Inc has dropped in the session following its earnings report. The move will also likely see TWTR give up a recent foothold at its 30-day moving average. And the shares could be in for even more pain if bullish options traders hit the bricks. The stock's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio stands at a lofty 2.89 -- in the 82nd percentile of its annual range.
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