Analyst Downgrades: Synaptics Depomed, and Gold Fields

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Synaptics, Incorporated (SYNA), Depomed Inc (DEPO), and Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (GFI)

Dec 12, 2016 at 9:57 AM

Analysts are weighing in on tech stock Synaptics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:SYNA), drugmaker Depomed Inc (NASDAQ:DEPO), and gold concern Gold Fields Limited (ADR) (NYSE:GFI). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on SYNA, DEPO, and GFI.

A downgrade to "underperform" from "perform" at Oppenheimer has SYNA down 2.5% at $54.99 this morning, widening its year-to-date deficit to 31.6%. The brokerage firm explained, "market and customer demands are not in favor of SYNA." The stock has spent the past month running into trouble in the $55-$58 range, which served as support throughout September. Meanwhile pessimism toward the equity has been building. During the most recent two-week reporting period, short interest on Synaptics, Incorporated climbed nearly 27%. These bearish bets now represent 12.6% of SYNA's available float, or more than a week's worth of trading, at the stock's average daily volume.
DEPO saw its rating cut to "underweight" from "neutral" at Piper Jaffray, sending the stock sliding 9% to $18.38 -- and landing it on the short-sale restricted list. Depomed Inc is now up less than 2% in 2016, and testing recent support in the $18.50 region. While options volume on the stock tends to run light on an absolute basis, speculators have been taking an extremely call-skewed approach in recent weeks. Specifically, DEPO's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) clocks in at a top-heavy 83.52 -- just 5 percentage points from an annual high.
RBC lowered its rating on GFI to "sector perform" from "outperform," but the stock is up 2.1% at $2.96. That said, GFI has been sliding down the charts for months, dropping 55% from its August three-year high of $6.60. In the options pits, call buying remains popular on an absolute basis. And bears may be backing off elsewhere -- short interest on Gold Fields Limited (ADR) dropped by 13% during the most recent reporting period to account for just 0.4% of the stock's total float.

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