Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the cable giant’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.23% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CMCSA. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Comcast from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Comcast from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Comcast from $52.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.13.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of Comcast stock opened at $21.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.70. Comcast has a twelve month low of $21.28 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.68.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The cable giant reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.07. Comcast had a net margin of 8.97% and a return on equity of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $29.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 75.5% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 932 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comcast during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Monetary Solutions Ltd acquired a new position in Comcast during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Comcast during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comcast’s depressed valuation and cash flow remain potential supports for the stock. The company generated nearly $18 billion in free cash flow over the past year, while its low earnings multiple has prompted some investors to argue that the shares may be undervalued. Comcast stock could be undervalued article
• Positive Sentiment: Comcast’s FreeWheel advertising technology is developing tools to help connected-TV advertisers measure viewer attention and ad quality, which could support the company’s longer-term advertising prospects. Moffett Nathanson and Citi still maintain Buy ratings, despite reducing their price targets. Comcast advertising technology article
• Neutral Sentiment: Moffett Nathanson cut its price target from $52 to $43, and Citi reduced its target from $30 to $27.50, but both firms retained Buy ratings. The target reductions signal lower near-term expectations while indicating that analysts still see substantial recovery potential. Comcast price target changes
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgraded Comcast to Underweight and established an $18 price target, citing intensifying broadband competition from fiber providers such as AT&T and Verizon. The firm expects Comcast’s third-quarter broadband subscriber trends unlikely to improve year over year. KeyBanc Comcast downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn that Comcast may need to keep lowering broadband prices to defend its customer base, potentially pressuring revenue, margins and other key performance metrics. The concern has pushed the stock toward its lowest level in roughly 13 years. Comcast downgrade and price-target cuts

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that provides broadband, wireless, video, voice and related services to residential and business customers. Through its connectivity businesses, Comcast offers internet access, mobile service, pay television, telephone service, and home security and automation products, primarily under the Xfinity brand in the United States.

Comcast also operates a broad portfolio of entertainment and media businesses. NBCUniversal includes the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, cable networks, film and television studios, the Peacock streaming service, and a collection of theme parks.