Analyst Downgrades: Pacific Ethanol, Cyberonics, Yandex

Analysts are weighing in today on commodity concern Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ:PEIX), medical device maker Cyberonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYBX), and European Internet issue Yandex NV (NASDAQ:YNDX). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on PEIX, CYBX, and YNDX.

• PEIX gapped nearly 26% higher yesterday, landing at a year-to-date closing high of $11.75, thanks to a solid earnings showing. The shares are poised to ride the broad-market jobs train higher, up 1.9% ahead of the bell, despite an early price-target cut to $15 from $19 at Craig-Hallum (which reiterated a "buy" rating). On the sentiment side, an exodus of option bears could help Pacific Ethanol Inc extend its upward momentum. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.81 ranks in the 88th percentile of its annual range, suggesting short-term speculators are more put-heavy than usual.


• CYBX, on the other hand, is bracing for a 1.9% dip out of the gate, after Jefferies downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy," and sliced its price target to $75 from $83. The new target implies expected upside of just 4.1% from Cyberonics, Inc.'s current perch at $72.03. On the charts, CYBX has added 29.4% in 2015, thanks to an M&A-inspired bull gap on Feb. 26, which sent the equity to a record high of $76.48. As such, the security's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at a lofty 89 -- deep into overbought territory, suggesting a short-term respite may have been due. Should CYBX resume its uptrend, an unwinding of short interest could translate into tailwinds, as it would take nearly 12 sessions to repurchase these bearish bets, at the equity's average pace of trading.


• Finally, YNDX is flat at $15.48 ahead of the bell, even as Barclays shaved its price target to $19.39 from $20. The brokerage firm also underscored an "overweight" rating, echoing the bullish bias among the analyst community. More specifically, Yandex NV boasts five "strong buys," compared to two "holds" and no "sells." Technically speaking, YNDX's latest earnings report ultimately did nothing for the shares, which have spent most of the past two months dawdling between $15 and $17. From a longer-term standpoint, the stock has surrendered more than half its value over the past year. Should YNDX continue to linger near new lows, more negative analyst notes could hit the wires.