Analyst Downgrades: Bank of America, TubeMogul, Pharmacyclics

Analysts are weighing in on financial firm Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), digital branding specialist TubeMogul Inc (NASDAQ:TUBE), and drugmaker Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on BAC, TUBE, and PCYC.

• BAC has had a solid month, tacking on nearly 6% to trade at $16.04 -- thanks to a lift from its 20-day moving average. In spite of this recent flexing of technical muscle, UBS cut its outlook on the shares to "neutral" from "buy," and lowered its price target to $16 from $20. While the options crowd has been all in on the equity, the brokerage bunch is mixed, with nine maintaining a "strong buy" rating, versus nine that have levied a "hold" or worse suggestion toward Bank of America Corp. Should the shares extend their momentum into March, a round of upgrades could help fuel their fire. Meanwhile, BAC announced yesterday that a trio of top leaders will be departing.


• TUBE is bracing for an 18% plunge out of the gate, after the firm's lower-than-expected full-year forecast was met with price-target cuts at RBC (to $20) and JMP Securities (to $21), although both brokerage firms underscored their respective "outperform" ratings. Overall, analysts have been pretty upbeat toward the shares -- despite their 20.4% year-to-date deficit -- as evidenced by the 80% of brokerage firms that maintain a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" to be found. Additionally, TubeMogul Inc's average 12-month price target of $22.22 stands at a steep 24% premium to last night's close at $17.94, and in territory not charted since the start of the year.


• It's been quite a week for PCYC, as the stock has added 22.7% to trade at $217.82, amid reports the company could be flirting with potential suitors. In spite of this surge, Goldman Sachs overnight lowered its rating on the security to "neutral" from "buy," and removed PCYC from its "America's Buy List." In the options pits, the stock's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.69 ranks in the 93rd annual percentile, meaning puts have been bought to open over calls at a near-annual-high clip. Echoing this put-skewed bias is PCYC's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.31, which rests higher than all comparable readings taken in the past 12 months. Simply stated, short-term speculators are more put-heavy now toward Pharmacyclics, Inc. than they've been at any other time during the last year.