Analyst Downgrades: HollyFrontier Corp, Cirrus Logic, Inc., and Metlife Inc

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on HollyFrontier Corp (NYSE:HFC), Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), and Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET)

Josh Selway

May 5, 2016 at 10:03 AM

Analysts are weighing in on petroleum refiner HollyFrontier Corp (NYSE:HFC), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), and insurance stock Metlife Inc (NYSE:MET). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on HFC, CRUS, and MET.

HFC reported an alarming drop in quarterly profit before the bell yesterday, sending the stock sliding to its lowest close since Feb. 23. Today, the stock is down another 0.1% at $31.12, after Credit Suisse, Barclays, and Goldman Sachs all lowered their price targets, with the latter reducing its mark to $30 -- the lowest of the bunch. Meanwhile, short sellers continue to target the struggling stock. Short interest on HollyFrontier Corp increased another 8.2% in the latest reporting period, and it'd now take these bears roughly one week to cover, at HFC's average daily trading pace.

AAPL suppliers have struggled in recent weeks amid shrinking iPhone sales. As such, Barclays downgraded its rating on CRUS to "equal weight" from "overweight," while trimming its price target to $35 from $37. The shares have since fallen 4.6% to $33.72, but remain 14.2% higher in 2016. This downgrade is a rare bout of negative analyst attention for Cirrus Logic, Inc., as every other covering brokerage firm rates it a "buy" or "strong buy."

MET is down 1.4% this morning at $42.95, after the insurance giant's first-quarter earnings didn't live up to analysts' expectations. What's more, the company mentioned weak returns from investments in hedge funds as one negative driver. Barclays followed this up with a price-target reduction to $51, while RBC lowered its price target to $62. Options traders are likely happy to see the stock add to its 17% 12-month decline. Over the past two weeks, Metlife Inc has accumulated a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.01 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which is just 3 percentage points from an annual high.

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