Analyst Downgrades: GM, Citigroup, and Barrick Gold

Analysts are weighing in on automaker General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), financial firm Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), and commodity concern Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on GM, C, and ABX.

• Goldman Sachs downgraded GM to "neutral" from "buy," and cut its price target to $40 from $47, amid slowing growth both domestically and in China. Additionally, the brokerage firm upwardly revised its outlook on Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), saying it prefers the F over GM. Since late April, GM has been bouncing between $34.50 and $36.50. Should the shares of General Motors Company continue these technical struggles -- the equity was last seen off 1.6% at $35.73 -- another round of bearish brokerage notes could be on the horizon. Currently, 62% of covering analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating, with not a single "sell" to be found. Plus, the average 12-month price target of $42.63 stands in record-high territory.


• C saw its rating cut to "hold" from "buy" at Deutsche Bank overnight, sending the shares 1% lower at the open. Longer term, the stock is up 22% since hitting its Jan. 16 year-to-date low of $46.60 to trade at $56.67, and hit a six-year high of $57.64 in yesterday's session. Option traders have been betting on higher highs in recent months, and have been buying to open calls over puts at a near-annual-high clip. Specifically, Citigroup Inc's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 2.45 ranks in the 90th annual percentile.


• Credit Suisse chimed in on a number of mining names, and for ABX, this resulted in a price-target cut to $12.50 from $13. On the charts, the stock has been in a long-term downtrend, shedding more than 37% year-over-year. More recently, the equity has encountered a handful of stiff rejections from its descending 200-day moving average, and was last seen lingering near $11.12. Short-term speculators, meanwhile, have been more put-skewed than usual toward Barrick Gold Corporation. The security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.76 ranks higher than 70% of all similar readings taken in the past year.