Analyst Downgrades: Tesla, Super Micro Computer, Gap

Analysts are weighing in on electric car concern Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), green technology firm Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI), and specialty retailer Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on TSLA, SMCI, and GPS.

• TSLA has been in the bearish crosshairs of analysts all week, and today, Barclays cut its rating on the shares to "underweight" from "equal weight" and its price target to $180 from $190. As a point of reference, the stock settled last night at $226.72, and hasn't traded south of $180 since May 2014. Specifically, the brokerage firm said, "last week's [Model] X launch failed to boost the shares -- indicating a lack of 'story'-driven buying support," which it believes will translate into a significant 2015 delivery guidance miss. Amid this bearish backlash, the stock is down 11.4% week-to-date at $219.25. Separately, Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk took a swipe at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), likening the latter to a "graveyard" for former TSLA engineers, and implying that he's not taking the company's electric car plans seriously.


• SMCI is down 17% at the open at $26.40, after the company's lower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter forecast was met with price-target cuts from Roth Capital (to $40), Stifel (to $40), Needham (to $41), and Maxim (to $47). SMCI -- which will unveil its full quarterly results after the market closes on Thursday, Oct. 22 -- was already staring at a nearly 9% year-to-date deficit heading into today's session, with a recent rebound stifled by its 200-day moving average. Option traders have been bracing for more downside, too. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Super Micro Computer, Inc.'s 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.67 ranks 8 percentage points from a 52-week peak. In other words, puts have been bought to open over calls at a near annual-high clip.


• GPS was last seen off 7.8% at $26.69 -- a three-year low -- after the firm reported weak same-store-sales for September -- and another management shake-up. What's more, the news prompted a round of negative analyst notes, including a price-target cut to $28 from $35 at FBR, with the brokerage expressing concern that Gap Inc could downwardly revise its full-year forecast when it reports third-quarter results in mid-November. Today's price drop is just more of the same for a stock that's shed 36.6% of its value in 2015 -- a move that's likely being cheered by short sellers. Despite short interest declining 10.8% in the last two reporting periods, these bearish bets still account for nearly 11% of the security's available float.