Analyst Downgrades: Barrick Gold, Stratasys, and Nike

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on ABX, SSYS, and NKE

Karee Venema

Dec 22, 2014 at 9:21 AM

Analysts are weighing in today on commodity concern Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX), 3-D printing specialist Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SSYS), and athletic apparel issue Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on ABX, SSYS, and NKE.

TD Securities shaved its price target on ABX to $15 from $16 -- and underscored its tepid "hold" rating, echoing the general consensus among the brokerage bunch. This lackluster positioning isn't surprising, considering Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) has shed 38.6% of its value this year, and, more recently, has underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by roughly 32 percentage points over the past 60 sessions. Should ABX extend this downward trajectory, another round of price-target reductions could be on the horizon. Specifically, ABX's consensus 12-month price target of $18.13 stands at a 67.4% premium to Friday's close at $10.83, and in territory not charted since early September.

SSYS got hit with price-target cuts from J.P. Morgan Securities (by $12 to $120) and Piper Jaffray (by $10 to $120), although both brokerage firms reiterated their "overweight" ratings. Technically speaking, SSYS has struggled since taking a post-earnings dive in early November, with the shares off 33% from their Nov. 4 close at $121.25 to trade at $81.15. Traders, meanwhile, have shown a distinct preference for puts over calls among options set to expire in three months or less. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.20 ranks in the 86th percentile of its annual range, meaning short-term speculators are more put-heavy than usual toward Stratasys, Ltd.

Following NKE's 2.3% post-earnings drop last Friday, Goldman Sachs trimmed its six-month price target on the shares by $3 to $109. The brokerage firm did maintain its "buy" rating, however, mirroring the majority of analysts currently covering the shares. In spite of NKE's price action in the wake of its disappointing demand outlook, the security is still up roughly 21% year-to-date, and closed Friday at $94.84 -- just 4.9% below its Nov. 28 record peak of $99.76. In the options pits, though, short-term speculators are more put-skewed than usual, as evidenced by Nike Inc's SOIR of 1.24, which sits just 10 percentage points from a 52-week peak.

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