Analysts downwardly revised their ratings on ACN, HPE, and UAA
Analysts are weighing in on consulting firm Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN), computer hardware stock Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE), and athletic apparel retailer Under Armour. Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of ACN, HPE, and UAA stock.
Bearish Goldman Note Knocks Accenture Stock South
ACN is down 1.6% at $117.93, after Goldman Sachs lowered its rating to "sell" from "neutral," and reduced its price target to $110 from $125. Separately, Accenture Plc acquired Genfour, bolstering its capabilities in intelligent automation services. Despite being down today, ACN stock touched a record high of $126.53 as recently as March 22. Perhaps this explains why options traders have taken such a glass-half-full approach. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculators have amassed a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.93, just 11 percentage points from a 12-month peak.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Shakes Off Price-Target Cut
HPE announced that the spin-off and merger of its enterprise services unit with Computer Sciences Corporation has been completed, and updated its 2017 guidance to reflect the transaction. Separately, Deutsche Bank slashed its price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co by $5 to $20. In early trading, the shares are 0.8% lower at $17.62, but have still more than doubled from their January 2016 lows south of $9. Confidence on Wall Street has been hard for HPE to come by, despite its technical strength. For example, 65% of analysts rate the stock a "hold" or a "strong sell."
FBR, Barron's Split on UAA Stock
UAA received mixed brokerage attention. On the one hand, FBR reduced its rating to "underperform" from "market perform," and dropped its price target to $14 from $20 -- territory not seen by the stock since April 2013. On the other, Barron's waxed optimistic on Under Armour stock (subscription required), predicting, "Contrarians who buy the stock here could make 30% or more in a year." Out of the chute, UAA stock is down 2% at $19.40, and has surrendered over half its value in the past 12 months. Given the stock's trajectory lower, short selling has picked up. Currently, 12.5% of UAA's float is dedicated to those bearish bets, which would take almost two weeks to cover, at the equity's average trading pace.