Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (GG), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC), and SAP SE (ADR) (SAP)
Analysts are weighing in on precious metals stock
Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG), freight firm Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE:NSC), and enterprise software provider SAP SE (ADR) (NYSE:SAP). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on GG, NSC, and SAP. - Unlike this sector peer, GG was hit with negative attention from RBC. Specifically, the brokerage firm slashed its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "sector perform" -- though, at the same time, it raised its price target to $16.50 from $12. In early trading, Goldcorp Inc. is shaking off the downgrade, up 2.9% at $17.60, and has now advanced 52% year-to-date. Elsewhere, options traders keep buying to open puts over calls at a faster-than-usual clip, while short sellers have been piling on. During the most recent reporting period, short interest on GG spiked 65.8%, but still only accounts for 1.8% of the stock's total float.
- NSC is down 2% at $79.84, after Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (USA) (NYSE:CP) ended its pursuit of a buyout. Making matters worse for shares of Norfolk Southern Corp., Barclays cut its price target by $2 to $88. This skepticism is par for the course, as 14 of 17 analysts covering NSC consider it a "hold" or worse, and its consensus 12-month price target of $84.10 is just a chip-shot away. On the charts, NSC's intraday losses are more of the same. The stock has shed almost 6% of its value on a year-to-date basis.
- SAP was hit with a price-target cut to EUR 77 from EUR 78, after the company issued a profit warning, citing slower sales of software licenses to U.S. and Brazilian businesses. At last check, however, the stock was 1% higher at $77.49, putting it just south of its year-to-date breakeven mark. In recent months, traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have been buying to open SAP SE puts over calls at an accelerated rate. Specifically, the stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 4.02 ranks in the 88th annual percentile, with long puts quadrupling calls.
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