Analyst Downgrades: Twitter Inc, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., and Tiffany & Co.

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on social media name Twitter Inc (TWTR), restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG), and retail stock Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

Jan 17, 2017 at 11:12 AM

Analysts are weighing in on social media name Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), and retail stock Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on TWTR, CMG, and TIF.

TWTR is down 1.1% at $17.06, after a downgrade to "neutral" from "buy" and a price-target cut to $18 from $22 by UBS. The brokerage firm cited "operating challenges in its advertising business" due to increased competition, pricing pressure, and "poor execution in its direct response advertising efforts." Today's negative price action is just more of the same for TWTR shares, which have plunged 32% since their early October annual high north of $25. In the option pits, however, call buyers have bombarded Twitter Inc, with the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 5.44 sitting in the 95th percentile of its annual range. TWTR could swing even lower, should this excessive optimism begin to roll over.
CMG is down 0.6% at $408.09, following a downgrade to "neutral" from "overweight" at J.P. Morgan Securities, which said Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.'s "fundamentals have been much worse than imagined" since a mid-April upgrade. CMG shares have been battling their historical 200-day moving average over the past week, a trendline which contained an October rally attempt. Longer term, CMG is down more than 14% year-over-year, though option players seem to be betting on upside. In fact, 1.34 calls have been bought to open for every put over the last two weeks at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX -- a ratio that sits higher than 86% of all other readings from the past 12 months. If these bullish bets begin to unwind, it could put even more pressure on CMG shares.
TIF is trading 1.1% lower at $81.04, after the luxury retailer reported lower-than-expected holiday sales, due notably to declining sales at its flagship Fifth Avenue location in New York amid increased security and protests at its Trump Tower neighbor. Goldman Sachs also trimmed TIF's price target to $74 from $75. Tiffany & Co. shares are currently down 5% from their Dec. 8 annual high of $85.44, but recently bounced from their 120-day moving average. Short sellers have been betting on more downside for the shares, with short interest accounting for more than 11% of TIF's float, or 11.7 times TIF's average daily volume.

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