Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on MAT, EAT, and VRTX
Analysts are weighing in on Fisher-Price parent Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT), restaurant stock Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT), and biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX). Here's a quick look at today's bearish brokerage notes on MAT, EAT, and VRTX.
Mattel Cut to "Neutral" at MKM Partners
MAT is down 14.3% at $27.05, after the company reported an earnings miss, with the results pressured by a global decline in Fisher-Price and Barbie sales. MKM Partners downgraded MAT to "neutral" from "buy," and joined a number of other brokerage firms in cutting its price target. Today's drop puts MAT down nearly 21% since its mid-August peak near $34.25. In the option pits, near-term traders are more call-skewed now than they've been at any other point during the past year, with MAT's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.24 sitting at an annual low.
Post-Earnings Analyst Backlash for Brinker
After plunging 6.2% yesterday following an earnings miss, EAT is up 1.3% at $44.83 -- which isn't too surprising considering the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) settled at 23, well into oversold territory. Today's bounce comes despite a round of bearish brokerage attention, with EAT receiving no fewer than nine price-target cuts, including one to $43 from $56 at Canaccord Genuity, which said "top-line challenges are likely to persist." Brinker International, Inc.'s withstanding trend has been to the downside, though, with the stock down nearly 20% since touching an annual high of $55.84 in November.
Vertex Attracts Mixed Analyst Attention Post-Earnings
VRTX is down 0.8% at $84.49, after Jefferies and Goldman Sachs cut their respective price targets to $100 and $78, following the company's earnings report and full-year guidance. Leerink, meanwhile, hiked its price target to $115. VRTX shares are staring up at their 200-day moving average, and have a year-over-year loss of 8.5%. Option traders have been buying to open calls over puts at a rapid-fire rate in recent months. VRTX's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.84 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is ranked just 2 percentage points from an annual peak.
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