Susquehanna downgraded the equity to "neutral," and cut its price target to $35
The shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) are down 0.8% at $36.04 at last check, after Susquehanna downgraded the security to "neutral," and lowered its price target to $35, citing operating challenges and the economic slowdown. Plus, Citigroup cut UAL's price objective to $56 from $71.
The brokerage bunch was mostly pessimistic towards the equity coming into today, with eight of the 14 in question carrying a tepid "hold" or worse rating. And while short sellers have hit the exits -- with short interest down 16% in the last two reporting periods -- the 19.35 million shares sold short still make up 5.9% of United Airlines stock's available float.
Short-term options traders echo that pessimism, per the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.11, which ranks higher than all but 6% of readings from the last 12 months. In other words, these traders have rarely been more put-biased.
United Airlines stock's latest rally lost steam at the $42 level last week, and failed to break through overhead pressure from the 60-day moving average. It's been a volatile year for the shares so far, and longer term the security carries a hefty 23.6% year-over-year deficit.