Analyst Downgrades: Nordstrom, Inc., Sotheby's, and Yamana Gold Inc.

Analysts are weighing in today on retailer Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN), auction house Sotheby's (NYSE:BID), and gold producer Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on JWN, BID, and AUY.

• After its board of directors approved a dividend boost Friday evening, JWN received a mixed bag of brokerage notes. Barclays, for example, cut its outlook on the shares to "underweight" from "equal weight," while Topeka upped its price target by $3 to $88, and reiterated its "buy" rating. On the charts, JWN has done well over the past 52 weeks, boasting a 35.8% gain. Should the shares turn in another well-received earnings report this Thursday night -- JWN has averaged a single-session post-earnings gain of 2.6% over the past four quarters -- the door is wide open for more analysts to follow in the footsteps of Topeka. Currently, 65% of analysts covering Nordstrom, Inc. maintain a "hold" or "sell" suggestion, while the average 12-month price target of $78.32 stands at a discount to Friday's close at $79.41.


• Cowen and Company cut its rating on BID to "market perform" from "outperform," marking a change of pace to the optimism expressed by most analysts following the shares. Prior to today's downgrade, all four brokerage firms tracking BID deemed it worthy of a "strong buy" recommendation. Technically speaking, Sotheby's has been charting a path higher since hitting an annual low of $34.74 in early October, up 29.2% to trade at $44.89. In spite of this, put buying has been popular in recent months. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), for instance, BID's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.28 ranks in the 85th percentile of its annual range. In other words, puts have been bought to open over calls at a faster-than-usual clip.


• It's been a tough year for AUY, which has shed nearly 61% of its value over the past 12 months. Against this backdrop, Barclays lowered its price target on the shares to $6 from $7, while Dundee reduced its target price to C$4.25 from C$4.50. Should the shares extend their downward trajectory, there is plenty of room for an unwinding of optimism both in and out of the options arena. The stock's 50-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio of 11.51 ranks just 4 percentage points from a 52-week peak, meaning calls have been bought to open over puts at a near-annual-high clip in recent months. Elsewhere, eight out of 13 covering analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating on Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE:AUY), while the consensus 12-month price target of $7.24 represents expected upside of 75.3% to last Friday's close at $4.13.