AK Steel, Intuitive Surgical, Verizon Downgraded

Analysts are weighing in on steel stock AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS), da Vinci parent Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), and blue chip Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AKS, ISRG, and VZ.

Analysts Extend AK Steel Losses

AKS is down 5.9% at $8.16, just a day after the shares sold off on a downbeat outlook. Since Tuesday's close, the stock has received a downgrade to "neutral" from "overweight" at J.P. Morgan Securities, which also cut its price target to $8 from $11, as well as price-target reductions at BMO and Jefferies. AK Steel Holding Corporation still sits more than 300% higher year-over-year, though the shares are now testing support at their 80-day moving average. Option players have been unusually bearish towards AKS over the last several months, with its 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) of 0.45 sitting higher than 83% of all other readings taken in the last 12 months.

Intuitive Surgical Up After Earnings

ISRG is up 2.6% at $683.25, after the company delivered an earnings win -- but also warned of slowing growth in 2017 due to changing hospital trends and competition. The company also announced a $2 billion stock buyback. Evercore ISI and RBC both issued price-target cuts, to $685 from $720, respectively. Long term, the shares are up 25% year-over-year. Short sellers may be sweating today's move higher, with Intuitive Surgical, Inc. sporting a short-interest ratio (SIR) of 5.0.

Verizon Falls On Post-Earnings Analyst Attention

VZ is trading 1.1% lower at $49.56, extending yesterday's post-earnings losses. Since delivering the weak results, VZ has been downgraded to "sector perform" from "outperform" by both FBR and RBC. In addition, those brokerage firms joined with at least eight others in hitting the blue-chip stock with price-target cuts. Verizon Communications Inc. is still up 7.7% from its November lows, though analysts have remained largely bearish towards the shares -- even before today's losses -- with 17 of 25 rating them a "hold" or "strong sell."