Analyst Downgrades: Biogen Idec, NVIDIA, and Tesla

Analysts are weighing in on biotech firm Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), chipmaker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), and electric car issue Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on BIIB, NVDA, and TSLA.

• BIIB is pointed 2.1% lower ahead of the bell, after Stifel downgraded Biogen Idec Inc to "hold" from "buy" (while three other firms hiked their price targets). On the charts, BIIB has been a technical outperformer, with the shares up over 40% year-to-date to hit $475.98. What's more, the security notched a record high of $480.18 last Friday. Off the charts, the drugmaker said it is dropping the "Idec" from its name as of today, as well as expanding its footprint in the treatment of Alzheimer's and ALS. In the options pits, short-term puts are more popular than usual, per BIIB's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.29, which sits in the 96th percentile of its annual range.


• Goldman Sachs cut its opinion of NVDA to "sell" from "neutral," prompting the shares to shed about 2.9% in electronic trading. The downgrade -- attributed to risks of possibly diminishing Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) revenue -- is somewhat surprising, given that NVIDIA Corporation notched a four-year high of $23.60 before settling at $23.47 on Friday, with the shares up over 17% year-to-date. Sentiment in the options pits is echoing today's downgrade, though, as NVDA's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.64 sits in the 73rd percentile of its annual range. Additionally, the brokerage bunch is mostly pessimistic on the stock, as 57% of covering analysts rate the stock a "hold" or worse. A capitulation of bears in the options pits and/or the analyst community could create tailwinds.


• TSLA -- which last week said its flagship Model S will have autonomous driving features available to consumers as soon as this summer -- was hit with a negative analyst note. Pacific Crest cut its price target on the equity by $7 to $293. Looking back, Tesla Motors Inc has been slipping, with the shares down roughly 32% from their Sept. 4 all-time high of $291.41 to close Friday at $198.08. Accordingly, bearish sentiment has been ruling the options pits, as TSLA's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio of 1.18 ranks higher than 93% of all equivalent ratings taken over the past 12 months.