Analysts made bold calls on Wednesday, with Cisco Systems taking the sharpest hit. The networking giant was downgraded, with the consensus target price slashed from $113.91 to $91.36 — a drop of over 20%. The $402B company carries a low short interest of just 1.6% of free float. Bears have not piled in yet. But the steep target cut signals fading confidence in Cisco's near-term outlook.
NetApp also drew a bearish call. BWG Global downgraded the storage specialist from Buy to Hold. NetApp already has 11% of its free float sold short — the highest of the three stocks flagged today. That level of short interest suggests the market has been skeptical for a while.
On the brighter side, Starbucks picked up an upgrade. The coffee chain's consensus moved from Hold to Buy. The average target price edged up to $106.68. At 3.6% short interest, short sellers have limited conviction against the stock.
Elsewhere, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Dell Technologies both saw target price increases. The enterprise hardware space is drawing renewed optimism. also received an upgrade, adding to a quietly positive session for consumer names.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
