FCX shares are extending their 2017 slide, thanks to a bearish brokerage note
Analysts are weighing in on mining name Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX), penny stock Inotek Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:ITEK), and fertilizer giant Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of FCX, ITEK, and MON.
FCX Stock Downgraded to "Sell"
Berenberg downgraded FCX to "sell" from "hold" and lowered its price target to $10 from $12, saying the risk to the company's Indonesia mine has not been priced into the stock. In response, Freeport-McMoRan shares are trading down 1.1% at $12.42. Longer term, the stock has shed roughly 27% since its late-January annual high north of $17, but recently formed a triple-bottom pattern near $11.10.
FCX options traders have been quick to bet on more downside, though. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.62 ranks 3 percentage points from a 52-week peak, pointing to a near-annual-high demand for long puts relative to long calls.
Drug Data Draws Bearish Not for ITEK Stock
Inotek Pharmaceuticals saw its rating lowered to "hold" from "buy" at Canaccord Genuity, which also cut its price target on the shares to $1 from $3. The brokerage firm said it expects the ITEK stock to stay "range-bound for the foreseeable future as the company works through strategic options" following disappointing drug data for its glaucoma treatment.
ITEK shares gapped to a record low of $0.85 on Monday, following the failed test results, and was last seen off 3% at $0.93 -- down 84.8% on the year. Short sellers have been on the winning side of this trade, too. Short interest accounts for 19.2% of Inotek Pharmaceuticals' available float.
Monsanto Shares Downgraded to "Hold" at Jefferies
Jefferies downgraded Monsanto stock to a "hold" from "buy" this morning, sending the stock down 0.1% at $117.18. MON has pulled back 1.5% from its June 30 two-year high of $118.97, and closed Tuesday at $117.29 -- notching a finish below its supportive 40-day moving average for only the second time since late November. More than half of the 11 analysts following Monsanto stock carry a "strong buy" opinion, but downgrades have started to trickle in recently.