Analyst Downgrades: Biogen Inc, General Motors Company, and L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Biogen Inc (BIIB), General Motors Company (GM), and L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (LLL)

Sep 6, 2016 at 10:33 AM

LLL
GM
BIIB

Analysts are weighing in on biotech issue Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), automaker General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), and tech stock L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LLL). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on BIIB, GM, and LLL.

BIIB is down 0.4% at $312.19 this morning following a downgrade to "hold" from "buy" at Jefferies, though the brokerage firm raised its price target to $323. Biogen Inc has slumped throughout the past month as takeover hopes have yet to come to fruition. Meanwhile, options traders have taken an unusually bearish approach in recent weeks, per BIIB's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.98 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- just 10 percentage points from a 12-month high.

GM is off 0.4% to $32.05 after Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the shares by just $1 to $31. General Motors Company also reported that it has settled two federal cases regarding faulty ignition switches. The shares have mostly been moving sideways on the charts in recent weeks, but finally closed above the pesky $32 level on Friday. Still, bears are piling on, as options traders have abandoned their recently bullish stance, and short interest on GM rose by 23.3% during the most recent two-week reporting period alone.

LLL is fractionally lower at $149.85, as the shares try to shake off a bearish note from Citigroup, which initiated coverage on the stock with a "sell" rating and $174 price target. L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. has been climbing the charts for the past 12 months, hitting a record high of $154.50 in late July, and has since maintained a foothold above its 10-week moving average. Options volume on the stock has been running extremely light in the past 10 days, but it's an attractive time to pick up LLL's short-term options, with its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 14% at an annual low. That means premium is pointing toward historically low volatility expectations at the moment.

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