Sterne Agee Initiates Coverage on AMC Networks (AMCX)

Equities researchers at Sterne Agee began coverage on shares of AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) in a research report issued on Wednesday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Sterne Agee’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.66% from the stock’s previous close.

The analysts wrote, “The bear argument on AMCX shares is centered on two of the network’s marquee shows, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, ending their runs. We don’t find this argument convincing: with Mad Men coming back for the final season and two new shows launched between now and the end of 2014, the difference in original hours will hardly be dramatic enough to drive downside to our conservative estimate of 8% growth in advertising revenue. (For comparison, we expect this number to be 16% in 2013; it was 18% in 2012 and 15% in 2011.)”

AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) traded down 0.17% on Wednesday, hitting $63.32. AMC Networks has a 52-week low of $34.78 and a 52-week high of $66.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $62.26. The company has a market cap of $4.571 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $382.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. AMC Networks’s revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that AMC Networks will post $3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on AMCX. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of AMC Networks from $77.00 to $79.00 in a research note to investors on Monday, May 13th. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Ned Davis Research upgraded shares of AMC Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note to investors on Monday, May 13th. Finally, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of AMC Networks from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note to investors on Friday, May 10th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.32.

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX) is a holding company.