Analyst Downgrades: J C Penney Company Inc, Kohl's Corporation, and Himax Technologies, Inc.

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on retailers J C Penney Company Inc (JCP) and Kohl's Corporation (KSS), as well as semiconductor stock Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (HIMX)

Jan 18, 2017 at 10:54 AM

Analysts are weighing in on retailers J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) and Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS), as well as semiconductor stock Himax Technologies, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:HIMX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on JCP, KSS, and HIMX.

JCP is down 3% at $6.73, following a downgrade to "underperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse. "The transition to eCommerce and deep value retail disrupted store productivity and lowered profits," the brokerage firm explained. JCP has been on a steady track downward since its early December peak, dropping more than 37%, and echoing the broader retail sector, which has struggled on lackluster holiday sales. In terms of a silver lining, JCP currently sports a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 25.7, which indicates the shares are in "oversold" territory, and suggests a short-term bounce could be in the cards.
KSS is down 4% at $39.74, after the retailer was downgraded to "underperform" from "neutral" by Credit Suisse, which also issued a price-target cut to $39 from $45. Hit by weak holiday sales, KSS shares are down 33% from their early December highs. In the option pits, short-term call and put buyers are getting a lot of bang for their buck, with Kohl's Corporation sporting a Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 36%, in the bottom 12% of its annual range. Stated simply, near-term options are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations. Meanwhile, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 73 indicates KSS has tended to outperform volatility expectations over the past 12 months.
HIMX is trading 2.8% lower at $5.64 -- and is fresh off a three-year low of $5.60 -- after a downgrade to "neutral" from "outperform" at Credit Suisse, which also lowered its price target to $6.30 from $12. The brokerage firm said it believes "2017 will be a tough year for Himax," although the shares are still in a "good position" long term. HIMX has been trending lower since mid-September, dropping almost half of its value, and pressured by its 20-day moving average. In the option pits, near-term players have been unusually put-skewed, with Himax Technologies, Inc.'s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.70 sitting just 4 percentage points from an annual peak.

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