Arete Downgrades Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to Sell

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Arete from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday. They currently have a $23.00 price objective on the cable giant’s stock. Arete’s price objective points to a potential downside of 18.24% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Comcast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $39.00) on shares of Comcast in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Comcast from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Comcast from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.18.

Comcast Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA opened at $28.13 on Tuesday. Comcast has a 1-year low of $25.75 and a 1-year high of $38.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.50 billion, a PE ratio of 4.68, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.02 and its 200-day moving average is $31.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 18.33%.The firm had revenue of $30.34 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 51,383 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 11,696 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Comcast by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 43,377 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 8,750 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Comcast by 168.8% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 514,312 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $16,160,000 after acquiring an additional 323,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP grew its stake in shares of Comcast by 164.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 37,878 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 23,578 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spin?off completes, sharpening Comcast’s strategic focus and simplifying the business; analysts and some investors see potential for better capital allocation to broadband, wireless, Peacock and theme parks. Comcast Announces Completion of Separation of Versant
• Positive Sentiment: Value narrative highlighted: commentary points to Comcast’s strong free cash flow, dividend support and undervaluation versus peers — a reason some investors are buying into CMCSA after the corporate simplification. These 3 Stocks Trade at Discounts the Market Won’t Ignore Forever (CMCSA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Versant (the spun?off entity) has started trading on Nasdaq; its performance will determine how investors value the carved?out media assets but does not change Comcast’s retained core operations immediately. Versant Stock Slides in Its First Day of Trading — Investopedia
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/advertising initiative: Xumo (streaming/ad tech) rolled out an advanced identity solution that could incrementally improve streaming ad targeting and monetization over time — a longer?term positive but not an immediate earnings driver. Xumo Introduces Advanced Identity Solution — BusinessWire
• Negative Sentiment: Versant’s weak Nasdaq debut (shares slid) highlights investor skepticism about the standalone valuation of legacy media assets — a reminder of persistent cable and ad?market headwinds that can weigh on sentiment for media peers. Versant stock falls after completing Comcast spin-off — Investing.com
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flags near?term volatility and continuing cable worries; Barron’s and others note the spin?off can remove a diversification layer and that legacy video/cable concerns still weigh on the multiple. Comcast Stock Slips. Why It’s Taking a Hit From the Versant Spinoff — Barron’s

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.