Analyst Downgrades: Netflix, Inc., Guess?, Inc., and Super Micro Computer, Inc.

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES), and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)

Karee Venema

Jul 19, 2016 at 10:08 AM

Analysts are weighing in on streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), retailer Guess?, Inc. (NYSE:GES), and tech stock Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on NFLX, GES, and SMCI.

NFLX's disappointing second-quarter subscriber numbers were hit with backlash from the brokerage bunch. Included in the fresh onslaught of price-target cuts was one from Canaccord Genuity to $115 from $120, even as the brokerage firm said "weakness in the stock represents a good long-term buying opportunity." Elsewhere, Jefferies lowered its price target to $76 from $80, saying the biggest impact from the "un-grandfathering" process is likely to be incurred in the current quarter. And while Wedbush raised its price target to $50 from $45, this still stands at a substantial discount to the stock's present price. In fact, against this bearish backdrop, shares of Netflix, Inc. have plunged 14% to $84.85 -- and found a place on the short-sale restricted list -- bringing their year-to-date deficit to 25%.

Piper Jaffray downgraded GES to "underweight" from "neutral" and lowered its price target to $12 from $15. As such, shares of the retail stock are down 6.1% at $14.46. Longer term, the stock is off 36.2% year-over-year, and hit a seven-year low of $13.89 during the post-"Brexit" broad-market bloodbath. Not surprisingly, sentiment is tilted toward the skeptical side. Of the eight brokerages following Guess?, Inc., seven maintain a tepid "hold" rating. Meanwhile, a healthy 11.5% of the stock's float is sold short, or 6.8 times the average daily pace of trading.

SMCI is down 28.6% at $18.81 -- and fresh off a two-year low of $18.75 -- after the company issued a dismal fiscal fourth-quarter forecast. Additionally, both D.A. Davidson and Stifel downgraded the stock's rating to the equivalent of a "hold," and the former joined at least two other brokerage firms in lowering their price targets on the shares. This isn't the first time the security has taken a dive on dreary guidance, and year-over-year, the shares of Super Micro Computer, Inc. are down 25%. In the options pits, meanwhile, short-term speculators have rarely been as put-skewed as they are now. Specifically, SMCI's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.18 rests just 2 percentage points from a 52-week peak.

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