Another Dive at Coldwater Creek

Coldwater Creek(CWTR Quote - Cramer on CWTR - Stock Picks) shares were splashed again Thursday after the women's apparel retailer was downgraded by CL King.

Analyst Mark Montagna cut the stock to neutral from accumulate. In his report, Montagna noted that the Sandpoint, Idaho-based company took markdowns of about 33% on roughly 25 spring items this week, which he said was far earlier in the season than normal.

"We are alarmed that such early markdowns may be indicative of a merchandise assortment that lacks the high appeal Coldwater Creek customers have grown accustomed," he wrote.

Montagna said he surveyed competitors Talbots(TLB Quote - Cramer on TLB - Stock Picks), Talbots' J. Jill brand and Chico's(CHS Quote - Cramer on CHS - Stock Picks), and none of those chains had marked down their spring merchandise.

"This is also alarming considering Coldwater Creek has been doing better than each of these chains in recent quarters," he wrote.

The downgrade comes less than a week after the company slashed its fourth-quarter earnings projections, sending its stock plunging 12% on Friday.

Shares recently were trading down 89 cents, or 4.6%, to $18.59.