Analyst Downgrades: Fluidigm Corporation, Netflix, Nokia Corp

Analysts downwardly revised their ratings and price targets on Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Nokia Corp (ADR) (NYSE:NOK)

Oct 13, 2016 at 9:50 AM

Analysts are weighing in on healthcare stock Fluidigm Corporation (NASDAQ:FLDM), streaming specialist Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), and broadband baron Nokia Corp (ADR) (NYSE:NOK). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on FLDM, NFLX, and NOK.

FLDM announced last night that the company is "exceedingly disappointed" in its preliminary third-quarter results (subscription required), and added that it is suspending its full-year forecast. Making matters worse, Cowen slashed its price target on the stock to $5.50 from $9.50. Out of the chute, Fluidigm Corporation is down 24.5% at $5.32, landing it on the short-sale restricted list. Previous short sellers should be cheering the stock's slide, though. After all, one-tenth of FLDM's float is already sold short, which -- at the equity's typical trading volume -- would take over three weeks to buy back.

NFLX is down 0.8% at $98.72, just ahead of next Monday night's earnings report. Weighing on the shares is Wedbush, which reiterated its "underperform" rating, citing "slowing domestic growth" and potentially "meaningful competition from Amazon." The brokerage firm also added, "We expect Netflix to continue to bleed cash for the foreseeable future," due to rising content costs. Netflix, Inc. has bled on the charts, too, shedding 13.7% year-to-date. Yet, options traders have been buying to open calls over puts at an accelerated clip, per data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Specifically, NFLX's 50-day call/put volume ratio is 1.48, which sits just 4 percentage points from a 12-month peak.

A day after rival Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) plunged on a profit warning, NOK has slipped 3.1% to trade at $4.93 -- a three-year low. Triggering the selloff was Goldman Sachs' decision to remove the stock from its "Conviction" list, and cut its price target to $6.40 from $7.20. Additional bearish brokerage notes could be just around the corner, too. After all, seven of 12 analysts rate Nokia Corp a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" opinion on the books.

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