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Amgen, Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Zoe's Kitchen Downgraded

Zoe's Kitchen stock is lower after a downgrade at Baird

May 22, 2017 at 10:01 AM
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Analysts are weighing in on drugmakers Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTA), as well as fast-casual restaurant stock Zoe's Kitchen Inc (NYSE:ZOES). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of AMGN, MNTA and ZOES.

AMGN Stock Sinks on Ugly Drug Data

Amgen stock is in the red -- down 2% at $153.44 -- after the company said it no longer expects its experimental osteoporosis drug to win Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Adding insult to injury, Morgan Stanley cut its price target on AMGN stock to $183 from $189, while Evercore ISI said the new data on romosozumab is "clearly negative and very surprising."

The stock has been in a sharp downtrend since hitting a record high of $184.21 in mid-March, and AMGN options traders have been loading up on long puts in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Amgen's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 3.20 ranks 3 percentage points from a 52-week peak. In other words, puts have been bought to open relative to calls at a near-annual-high clip.

MNTA Stock Downgraded at Barclays

Momenta Pharmaceuticals stock was downgraded to "equal weight" from "overweight" at Barclays, which also sliced its price target by $3 to $17. In response, MNTA shares are trading down 4.5% at $14.85 -- pulling back from the $16 mark, which has served as a stiff ceiling in recent weeks. Any near-term pullbacks could be contained in the $13 neighborhood, though, which coincides with peak open interest at MNTA's June 13 put.

Baird Downgrades ZOES Stock

Zoe's Kitchen shares were downgraded to "neutral" at Baird, which also cut its price target to $20 from $25. The brokerage firm said the "near-term risk profile looks elevated" ahead of this Thursday evening's earnings report. At last check, ZOES stock was down 6.2% at $17.04, bringing their year-to-date deficit to 29%. And, though short interest plunged 11.8% in the most recent reporting period, these bearish bettors are still in control of the stock. Short interest accounts for more than 29% of ZOES available float, or 17 times the stock's average pace of trading.
 

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