Snap, Intel, Express Scripts Downgraded

Analysts are weighing in on Snapchat parent Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), Dow stock Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), and pharmacy benefits specialist Express Scripts Holding Company (NASDAQ:ESRX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on SNAP, INTC, and ESRX shares.

Snap Stock Trading Lower for Fifth Straight Day

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on SNAP with an "underweight" rating and $18 price target, a discount to the stock's current price at $20.57. The brokerage firm listed five concerns -- including "an untested management team" and "an intense competitive landscape" -- and questioned whether Snap Inc will prove itself to be the next Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) or the next Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR). Since its blowout debut on Wall Street earlier this month, SNAP shares have been moving lower, prompting options traders to focus their attention on puts. What's more, with SNAP stock last seen down 0.4% -- fresh off a record low of $20.05 -- the shares are on track to notch a fifth straight day of losses.

Intel Shares Continue to Struggle After Mobileye Buyout News

INTC is trading 0.7% lower at $34.93, after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "outperform" and lowered its price target to $35 from $45. The brokerage firm issued scathing words for the shares, saying Intel is a "better company than stock." On Monday, Intel Corporation announced it would purchase self-driving car firm Mobileye NV (NYSE:MBLY), and since then, the shares have shed nearly 2%. Longer term, the stock is up 10.5% year-over-year, and options traders have kept the faith. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.92 ranks 1 percentage point from a 52-week peak, meaning calls have been bought to open over puts at a near-annual-high clip.

Express Scripts Slides After Downgrade

Wells Fargo cut its rating on ESRX to "underperform" from "market perform," sending the shares down 1.4% at $65.91. Today's negative price action is more of the same for ESRX stock, with the shares down 15% since a November double-top formation in the $77.50 neighborhood. Against this backdrop, options traders have shown a growing appetite for puts over calls. For starters, Express Scripts Holding Company's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 4.41 ranks in the 95th percentile of its annual range. Plus, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.72 ranks above all other comparable readings taken in the past year. In other words, short-term speculators are more put-heavy now than they've been at any other point during the past year.