Analysts are weighing in on fast-casual restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG), network equipment specialist Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR), and healthcare firm Acadia Healthcare Company Inc (NASDAQ:ACHC). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of CMG, JNPR, and ACHC.
Chipotle stock is about to get smoked, with the shares sliding 13.6% in pre-market trading, after the company's dismal third-quarter earnings report. Bearish analyst notes are pouring in as a result, including a downgrade to "market perform" from "outperform" at Telsey Advisory Group, which dropped its price target to $330. The lowest price targets, however, came from Cowen and Deutsche Bank, which set their marks at $240.
CMG stock settled at $324.30 yesterday, well below its 52-week high near $500 from May, and today's drop could have the shares in three-year-low territory once again. Short interest could continue to rise, too, which would make it difficult for the equity to gain momentum on the charts. Short interest rose over the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for over 19% of the security's float.
A disappointing earnings report is also ready to rock Juniper Networks stock. A handful of price-target cuts have followed, with several brokerages predicting a move down to $25. Looking back, this level has served as support for the shares over the past year, including their pullback earlier this month. JNPR closed yesterday at $26.16, $2 below its year-to-date breakeven level. Before the open, the stock is pointed 7.3% lower. This is likely fine with options traders, since the equity's 10-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) comes in at 1.64 and ranks in the 88th annual percentile. In other words, put buying has been unusually popular in recent weeks.
Shares of Acadia Healthcare have been in a series of lower highs since peaking above $54 back in July, and it's only going to get worse for shareholders today. The stock is set to lose 26% this morning, after the company reported top- and bottom-line misses for the third quarter. On top of at least four price-target cuts from analysts, Baird and Deutsche Bank both downgraded the equity to the equivalent of a "hold."
ACHC stock closed yesterday at $44.12, just below its 200-day moving average, and today's pre-market losses would put it back in the red on a year-over-year basis. Going forward, additional bear notes from the brokerage community are possible, since 11 of the 14 analysts with coverage on the security had "strong buy" ratings.