Analyst Downgrades: Hain Celestial Group Inc, Transocean LTD, and The Rubicon Project Inc

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Hain Celestial Group Inc (NASDAQ:HAIN), Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI)

Karee Venema

Aug 16, 2016 at 9:54 AM

Analysts are weighing in organic food specialist Hain Celestial Group Inc (NASDAQ:HAIN), energy stock Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG), and advertising tech specialist The Rubicon Project Inc (NYSE:RUBI). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on HAIN, RIG, and RUBI.

HAIN has plunged 28% to trade at $38.61, after the company said it will delay its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results as a result of accounting issues. Additionally, Hain Celestial Group Inc said sales and profit for 2016 will fall short of its previous forecast. Wall Street was quick to weigh in, with the stock receiving a bevy of bearish brokerage notes, including downgrades to "neutral" from "buy" at Wedbush and SunTrust Robinson. As a result of today's bear gap, the security is now in the red on a year-to-date basis -- and, while HAIN is short-sale restricted today, bearish bettors could be cheering. Short interest jumped 11% in the most recent two reporting periods, and now accounts for a healthy 7.9% of the stock's available float.

Jefferies lowered its price target on RIG to $10, sending the shares down 0.7% to trade at $10.34. This negative price action is just more of the same for the energy stock, which has shed roughly one-fifth of its value since being rejected by the key $13 mark in mid-July. Analysts, meanwhile, have taken a glass-half-empty approach toward Transocean LTD. Of the 20 brokerages covering the shares, all but two maintain a "hold" or worse recommendation, while the average 12-month price target of $9.07 stands at a discount to the stock's current perch.

Analysts continue to chime in on RUBI, following its recent guidance-induced bear gap. Overnight, First Analysis downgraded the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight" and slashed its price target to $10.50 from $22. Against this backdrop, shares of The Rubicon Project Inc have dropped 4.8% at $9.19. Since topping out at an annual high of $20.37 in late April, the stock has now surrendered more than half of its value. Nevertheless, options traders at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have bought to open 12.84 call options for every put option on RUBI in the past two weeks.

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