Shares of MetLife slip on analyst downgrade

Shares of MetLife Inc. slipped today after a Raymond James analyst downgraded the insurer, citing the company's overvalued stock price. The rating was lowered to "Market Perform" from "Strong Buy." MetLife stock shed $1.90, or 5 percent, to $35.84 in afternoon trading. The drop came amid a broader market sell-off, which was spurred by big declines in financial and energy companies. All the major indexes were down about 1.5 percent around midday. The Dow Jones industrials lost about 150 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 16, while the Nasdaq composite index was down 27 at 1,981. In a note to investors, analyst Steven Schwartz wrote that the "rating change is based solely on price and not on any change in our views of MetLife's fundamental operating outlook - which we continue to believe to be outstanding." MetLife is selling at 8.7 times its 2010 earnings per share estimate, Schwartz wrote. He n oted that MetLife enjoys a strong investment portfolio, brand name and what will prove to be a strong capital cushion.