Analyst Downgrades: American Airlines, Dean Foods

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF), and Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP)

Josh Selway

Jun 3, 2015 at 9:31 AM

TRIP
AAL
DF

Analysts are weighing in today on flying enthusiast American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), food and beverage concern Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF), and online travel firm Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on AAL, DF, and TRIP.

After taking a hit yesterday, AAL is down once again. The shares are 0.7% lower this morning at $43.48, after BofA-Merrill Lynch lowered its outlook to "neutral." The stock has been getting hammered in 2015, dropping 18.9%. Unfortunately for shareholders, American Airlines Group Inc may not be in the clear yet. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of of 5.51 is only 8 percentage points from an annual high. Plus, 10 of 13 brokerage firms say the equity is a "buy" or better. In other words, AAL could face headwinds if option traders or analysts change their bullish tune.

Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on DF to "equal weight" from "overweight," and now the shares are off 1.8% at $18.19. On the charts, Dean Foods Co has managed to outdo the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 14 percentage points in the past 20 sessions, and short-term option traders are now more call-skewed than normal. The security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.41 is lower than 82% of all readings from the past year. This also means that call open interest more than doubles put open interest among options expiring within three months.

Barclays weighed in on a number of online names overnight, and for TRIP this meant a new "underweight" rating and a $68 price target -- marking a discount to current levels. On top of this, Pacific Crest resumed coverage on the stock with a "sector weight" opinion. Tripadvisor Inc is 0.03% lower today at $76.30, as it clings to its slim 2015 lead. Most analysts have already taken a wait-and-see approach, as 14 brokerage firms say the shares are a "hold," with six others calling them a "strong buy," and one saying they're a "sell." However, TRIP's consensus 12-month price target of $88.83 stands at a 16.4% premium to its current perch, suggesting future price-target cuts could be in the cards.

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