Wall Street analysts are pumping the brakes on several high-profile stocks to kick off the week. Here are the five most notable downgrades that landed on Monday, featuring a particularly bearish turn from Morgan Stanley on major tech hardware players.
Dell Gets Downgraded as Morgan Stanley Sours on Hardware
Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring made waves by downgrading Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) from Overweight to Underweight, while simultaneously cutting his price target from $144 to $110. That's a substantial haircut for a stock that closed Friday at $133.76. When an analyst flips from bullish to bearish in one move, it's worth paying attention to what changed in their thesis.
Sealed Air Gets Upgraded Price Target Despite Downgrade
In a somewhat unusual move, Stifel analyst Lars Kjellberg downgraded Sealed Air Corporation (SEE) from Buy to Hold but actually raised the price target from $43.80 to $45. The stock closed Friday at $43.28, suggesting the analyst sees limited upside from current levels even with the higher target. Sometimes "hold" means exactly that—the easy money has already been made.
Healthcare and More Tech Hardware Join the List
Keybanc analyst Matthew Gillmor downgraded Ardent Health, Inc. (ARDT) from Overweight to Sector Weight. The healthcare company's shares closed at $9.01 on Friday as the analyst moved to a more neutral stance.
Morgan Stanley's Erik Woodring wasn't done with just Dell. He also downgraded HP Inc. (HPQ) from Equal-Weight to Underweight, cutting the price target from $26 to $24. HP closed Friday at $24.53, putting it essentially at the new target already. The double downgrade of both Dell and HP suggests Woodring sees broader headwinds in the PC and hardware space.
Biotech Takes the Biggest Hit
The most dramatic move came from HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Matthew Caufield, who downgraded Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. (ADVM) from Buy to Neutral while slashing the price target from $30 all the way down to $5. That's an 83% reduction in expectations. Adverum shares closed at $4.29 on Friday, already trading below even the drastically reduced target. When a biotech analyst cuts a price target by that much, it typically signals significant concerns about clinical trial prospects or regulatory pathways.
These downgrades reflect analysts reassessing their outlooks based on changing market conditions, company-specific developments, or sector-wide challenges. For investors holding these stocks, it's a reminder that Wall Street sentiment can shift quickly, and price targets are always moving targets.