Analysts Turn Bearish on LULU, CIEN, AKAM

Wall Street is cutting targets across three distinct sectors this week. The moves signal growing caution heading into autumn.

lululemon athletica took the heaviest fire. Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Straton slashed the target to $83 from $93 and reiterated Sell. B of A Securities followed, cutting to $122 from $140. Short interest sits at nearly 10% of free float — bears already have a firm grip on the stock.

Ciena Corporation drew rare target cuts from two separate banks on the same day. JP Morgan dropped its target to $605 from $635. Morgan Stanley went further, cutting to $425 from $490. The Morgan Stanley call is particularly bearish — the analyst moved to Hold, implying limited recovery potential from current levels. Ciena's market cap stands near $45 billion.

Akamai Technologies saw Citigroup analyst Fatima Boolani cut the target sharply — to $122 from $160. That is a 24% reduction. Short interest in Akamai already runs at nearly 14% of free float, one of the higher readings in the tech space.

On the positive side, Wells Fargo lifted Merck to a $170 target from $150 with a Buy rating. Federal Realty Investment Trust also received an upgrade from JP Morgan to Buy with a $129 target.