MOST NOTEWORTHY: New York Times, Finlay Enterprises and AXA were today's noteworthy downgrades:
- Banc of America downgraded shares of New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) to Sell from Neutral and lowered their target to $14 from $21, as they believe the luxury categories, which represent 28% of NYT's national ad revenue, are not recession proof and that the company is also vulnerable to a cyclical contraction in the financial services sector.
- B. Riley lowered its rating on Finlay Enterprises (NASDAQ: FNLY) to Sell from Neutral to reflect the weak consumer environment, higher gold prices, and lower sales expectations for Bailey.
- Goldman downgraded shares of AXA (NYSE: AXA) to Sell from Buy and added AXA to their Conviction Sell List on valuation and the company's exposure to the equity markets.
OTHER DOWNGRADES:
- Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Societe Generale.
- Deutsche Bank cut Air France KLM (NYSE: AKH) and Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Hold from Buy.
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