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Analyst Downgrades: AbbVie Inc, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc., and Barracuda Networks Inc

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on AbbVie Inc (ABBV), Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (MRTX), and Barracuda Networks Inc (CUDA)

Jun 6, 2016 at 11:25 AM
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Analysts are weighing in on biopharmaceutical stocks AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) and Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRTX), and cyber security stock Barracuda Networks Inc (NYSE:CUDA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on ABBV, MRTX, and CUDA.

  • ABBV is down 4.1% at $62.38, after Cowen and Company cut the stock's rating to "perform" from "outperform," and lowered its price target to $70 from $77, calling recent data on AbbVie Inc's Rova-T "underwhelming." Despite today's dip, ABBV has added over 10% in the past six months, ushered higher atop its 10-week moving average. The stock is also enjoying support from its 30-day moving average. AbbVie Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 2.8 sits higher than two-thirds of all other readings from the past 12 months. In other words, option buyers have been more bullish than usual lately.

  • MRTX is down 38.4% at $11.31 – its lowest since September 2013 – following an onslaught of analyst downgrades. The company presented "disappointing updates" on its small-cell lung cancer drug on Sunday, according to Leerink, which downgraded MRTX to "perform" from "outperform" and cuts its price target to $20 from $37. Meanwhile, Wedbush, Jefferies, Citigroup, Barclays, and Piper Jaffray's all made similar price-target cuts. Jefferies cut MRTX shares to "hold" from "buy." MRTX is now down 64% since the beginning of the year, and near-term option players could be kicking rocks; Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.'s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.1 is lower than 20% of all other readings from the past year.

  • CUDA shares are trading at $15.71, down 10%, after a downgrade from J.P. Morgan Securities to "market underperform" from "market perform." CUDA has made a comeback since hitting an all-time low of $9.44 in January, but recently ran into a wall at its 200-day moving average. CUDA's SOIR of 0.5 sits lower than 96% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting an unusually strong call bias among near-term traders. CUDA's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 40% sits lower than 98% of all other readings from the past 12 months, suggesting those short-term options are attractively priced, from a historical volatility standpoint.
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