The week of May 20 started off on the right foot with the the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising to over 17,700, but mixed economic reports and a Federal Reserve bias coming back toward tightening interest rates put the Dow barely in the red at 17,500.94. All in all, it wasn’t enough of a weekly move to count for very much. That wasn’t so for individual stocks.

24/7 Wall St. tracks many analyst upgrades and downgrades each day, which turns out to be hundreds of analyst calls per week. There are usually more Buy ratings than Sell ratings, and many investors have a hard time of really understanding when or why to sell.

The past two weeks have brought several Sell ratings that stood out above and beyond the other calls. Again, investors are not told to sell by brokers and analysts as often as they are told to buy. Some “sell” ratings have other names: underperform, underweight and the like. Just understand that they generally mean “Sell!”

Intel

The great processor giant and Dow component Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was initiated with an Underperform rating, again as Wall Street analyst code for “sell,” at CLSA. The price target was set at $30, which indicates a sideways pattern from Friday’s $30.15 close and versus the $30.39 close before the call was made. Intel was viewed as an Apple laggard and as a company that needs to take a different approach and have a better focus on individual companies ahead.

Intel’s consensus analyst price target is $35.20 (down from $35.35 earlier in the week), and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $24.87 to $35.59.

GE

The call on General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) dates back to May 12, but the stock has been stuck in the mud ever since despite a severe rally from trough to peak in recent months. The team at JPMorgan assigned an Underweight rating and issued a downside price target of $27 in the call, implying roughly 11% downside from the prior $30.34 closing price (without consideration of the dividend yield).

GE shares have been stuck and closed at $29.26 on Friday, after news that an activist investor had lowered his big stake. This was the same as a Sell rating, and JPMorgan warned that GE’s 2018 earnings targets might just be too good to come true and the firm sees continued overhang from the energy sector.

GE’s most recent $29.56 price falls in a 52-week range of $19.37 to $32.05, and the $27 target from JPMorgan compares to a consensus price target of $32.79.
Discovery Communications

Citigroup downgraded Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) to Sell from Neutral with a $27 price target (versus a prior $27.45 close, and down from its prior $30 target). Discovery operates TV networks like the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and others with a focus on lifestyles and education.

What was interesting about this Sell rating is that Discovery has been touted as a potential buyout candidate before, particularly under the “content is king” theme. Citigroup isn’t in that camp. Discovery’s market cap is still almost $15 billion, and its consensus target price is $29.83. The 52-week range is $23.74 to $34.94. If investors need or want a counter call, Argus reiterated its Buy rating and $40 price target on Discovery Communications.

Comerica

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo in a call from May 13. Wasn’t Comerica just touted as a hopeful buyout candidate last month? Apparently Wells Fargo isn’t on board for a big buyout hope here, maybe because of all the energy loan exposure. Comerica’s most recent closing price was $45.18, and the consensus analyst price target is lower at $43.38. Comerica’s 52-week range is $30.48 to $53.45.

If readers are looking for a fresher call, Goldman Sachs removed its Sell rating on May 19 — only raising it to Neutral, and taking its price target to $49 from $42.

Johnson & Johnson

On May 20, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) was initiated with a Sell rating at Standpoint Research, and the price target was all the way down at $94. Johnson & Johnson closed at $112.85 before the call and went out at $112.64 on Friday, indicating some 16% downside, without considering the 2.8% yield. Despite a track record of 54 consecutive years of dividend hikes, the firm’s target is more than $20 under the consensus analyst target of $117.44 — and the lowest prior official analyst price target was only $105.00.

Deutsche Bank

Though it seems to be having less and less of a name in the United States, Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) reigns in Germany and is massive in Europe. The firm Berenberg downgraded the shares from Hold to Sell on May 16. Sadly, even after so much weakness and after the bank already cut the dividend out, Berenberg sees the potentiality for another 40% of downside. The firm feels that Deutsche Bank will have to raise more capital as well, a task that may be painful and expensive.

Deutsche Bank American depositary shares closed at $16.91 on Friday with a $23 billion market cap, versus a consensus target price of $19.58 and in a 52-week range of $14.78 to $35.38.

Sell ratings come in all sorts of disguises. Some are more harsh than others, but they generally catch the eyes of investors more than the endless parade of Buy or Hold ratings.

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