Analyst Downgrades: Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc, Oracle Corporation, and Pier 1 Imports Inc

Analysts are weighing in on flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL), enterprise software firm Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), and home decor dealer Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on LL, ORCL, and PIR.

• LL has plunged 9.2% out of the gate at $16.96, after being downgraded to "sell" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which cited poor fundamental trends in the retailer. Such sharp losses are nothing new for the stock, which has given up roughly three-quarters of its value on a year-to-date basis. With at least one notable exception, short sellers are expecting further downside for Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. Over two-fifths of the stock's total float is sold short, representing nearly two weeks' worth of trading activity, at LL's average single-session volume.

• Fresh off a mixed turn in the earnings confessional, ORCL saw its price target cut to $41 at FBR and to $46 at RBC. As a result, the shares are off 4.2% in early trading at $37.28, bringing their year-to-date deficit beyond 17%. Meanwhile, short-term option traders have been gravitating to Oracle Corporation puts over calls. Specifically, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.09 ranks in the 89th percentile of its annual range.

• PIR is getting pummeled out of the gate, down 21.7% at $4.65 -- and earlier, the shares touched a fresh six-year low of $4.55. Triggering the bear gap are the company's weak quarterly sales and a cut to its 2016 profit guidance, which prompted no fewer than seven analysts to slash their price targets -- with Wedbush setting the lowest bar, at $4. This negativity is business as usual, as far as the brokerage crowd is concerned. After all, two-thirds of analysts tracking Pier 1 Imports Inc rate it a "hold" or worse.