Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Box Inc (BOX), and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)
Analysts are weighing in on iPhone parent
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), content collaboration specialist
Box Inc (NYSE:BOX), and retail stock
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AAPL, BOX, and COST.
- AAPL is pointed 0.7% lower pre-market, after Goldman Sachs cut its price target on the stock to $124 from $136. In addition, the brokerage firm lowered its full-year earnings estimates and iPhone sales forecast, citing lower growth expectations industrywide. On the charts, Apple Inc. has been battling back from its May 12 annual low of $89.47 to trade at $98.46, but was stonewalled around the $100 century level -- and continues to face pressure from its descending 40-day moving average. Further losses could trigger additional bearish brokerage attention, considering 24 of 29 analysts maintain "buy" or better opinions on AAPL.
- Despite last night's narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss, BOX received a downgrade to "neutral" from "overweight" at J.P. Morgan Securities -- which also slashed its price target to $14 from $18. On top of that, Canaccord Genuity lowered its target price to $16 from $18, though the firms' analysts added they're "buyers on the dip." As such, Box Inc -- which settled last night at $12.81 -- is bracing for a 7.3% plunge at the open. This ought to lift of the spirits of short sellers. Over one-quarter of the stock's float is sold short, representing more than four weeks' worth of trading, at BOX's usual daily volumes.
- Unlike yesterday, when COST won support from Wall Street, the stock is being met with skepticism this morning. Specifically, Sterne Agee CRT trimmed its price target to $176 from $179, after the big-box retailer reported flat same-store sales. "Memorial Day cushioned blow from modestly softer traffic trends in May, but core comparable sales was below our estimate nonetheless," the brokerage firm wrote in a note to clients. Ahead of the open, Costco Wholesale Corporation shares are down 1.1%, following Wednesday's settlement at $152.52. Meanwhile, across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have been buying to open puts over calls at a breakneck rate. COST's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.73 ranks in the 94th annual percentile.
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