Analyst Downgrades: The Coca-Cola Co, FedEx Corporation, and Procter & Gamble Co

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on The Coca-Cola Co (KO), FedEx Corporation (FDX), and Procter & Gamble Co (PG)

Dec 21, 2016 at 9:49 AM

Analysts are weighing in on drink dynamo The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), shipping stock FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), and Pantene parent Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on KO, FDX, and PG.

Jefferies cut its price target on KO to $43 overnight, while the company reached a $3.2 billion deal to buy Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV's (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) African bottling business. Out of the gate, the stock is up 0.3% at $41.77. Longer term, however, The Coca-Cola Co has been a disappointment, stair-stepping its way lower since notching an April 11 high at $47.13. Not surprisingly, analysts are extremely bearish toward the underperforming stock, with 10 out of 13 doling out "hold" or worse recommendations.
FDX reported disappointing earnings last night -- though revenue topped the consensus estimate -- prompting mixed brokerage attention. Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities cut their price targets to $209 and $230, respectively -- both still in record-high territory -- while Credit Suisse and Stephens raised their targets to $205 and $222, respectively. Out of the gate, FedEx Corporation is down 1.8% at $195.11, but remains a chip-shot from its all-time peak, touched last week. Bullish options speculators are likely smarting this morning amid the stock's pullback. During the last 10 weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), FDX has racked up a call/put volume ratio of 1.16 -- just 9 percentage points from an annual high

PG is down 0.5% at $84.18, after Stifel cut its rating to "hold" from "buy," and trimmed its price target to $86 from $88. On the other hand, Jefferies boosted its target price to $95, in previously uncharted territory. On the charts, Procter & Gamble Co has been retreating since topping out just above $90 in October, and its year-to-date lead now sits at just over 6%, well shy of the broader S&P 500 Index's (SPX) 11% gain. Meanwhile, at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, bearish bettors have been piling on. PG's 10-day put/call volume ratio is a top-heavy 4.14 -- just 1 percentage point from a 52-week peak.

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