5 Stocks Seeing Big Analyst Downgrades

By Larry Gellar Although sell-side analysts tend to lean towards positive views of stocks, we’ve found pessimistic actions in five stocks that investors should investigate. While Walgreen and Netflix have had trouble negotiating with business partners, Micron is simply in a tough business. Meanwhile, CarMax’s recent earnings report was perplexing to many analysts. Finally, Alcoa is hurting from lower aluminum prices but could still bounce back. Let’s see what specifically has been happening with these stocks: Guggenheim and Goldman Sachs both lowered earnings estimates for Walgreen (WAG) now that it appears a last-minute deal with Express Scripts (ESRX) will not happen. Investors who have been watching Walgreen will know that the stock has been under serious pressure due to its feud with Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefits company that many of Walgreen’s customers utilize. In a great New York Times article on this issue, Walgreen CEO Gregory Wasson said: While we remain open to any fair and competitive offer from Express Scripts, we firmly believe that accepting their proposal was not in the best interests of our shareholders. That means that the vast majority of Express Scripts clients will have to either switch pharmacies or pay Walgreen with their own…