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Analyst Downgrades: QUALCOMM, Inc., Atwood Oceanics, Inc., and Transocean LTD

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM), Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (ATW), and Transocean LTD (RIG)

Mar 28, 2016 at 9:52 AM
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Analysts are weighing in on tech stock QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), as well as offshore drilling concerns Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (NYSE:ATW) and Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on QCOM, ATW, and RIG.

  • Barclays downgraded QCOM to "equal weight" from "overweight," and cut its price target to $50 from $55. QUALCOMM, Inc. has been consolidating above the half-century level for more than a month, since bouncing back from a five-year low in February, but remains confined beneath its descending 160-day average -- a level the stock hasn't topped on a closing basis since November 2014. Sentiment in the option pits has hit a bearish extreme -- at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), QCOM's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.71 is at an annual high. The shares are down 0.9% today at $50.38.

  • ATW also took a hit from Barclays, including a downgrade to "underweight" from "equal weight" and a price-target cut to $6 from $7. The stock is 2.9% lower at $8.19 as a result, bringing its year-to-date loss to 19.9%. Today's bearish brokerage attention is just more of the same for Atwood Oceanics, Inc., which currently has 12 "hold" or "sell" ratings, compared to just two "strong buys." And traders have been betting against the equity, too. Short interest on ATW accounts for more than 37% of its available float -- over a week's worth of trading, at the stock's typical daily volume.

  • Another victim of Barclays this morning is RIG, off 0.4% at $9.34 following a price-target cut to $5 from $6 -- a 46% discount to Transocean LTD's current value, and in all-time-low territory. Just one of the 18 analysts providing coverage gives RIG a rating better than a "hold" -- unsurprising, as the stock hit a record low of $7.67 just over a month ago. The shares also breached a key support level last week. Elsewhere, call traders may be on edge as RIG retreats on the latest batch of bearish attention. Meanwhile, short interest still accounts for nearly nine sessions' worth of trading, at the stock's average pace.
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