BofA Raises Comcast Price Target to $37

Comcastis scheduled to announce quarterly results on January 29, while Warner Bros. Discoveryand Paramount Skydanceare expected to report earnings in late February. What to watch for:Clickto check out Warner Bros. Discover's recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks.OUTLOOK:Current consensus EPS and revenue forecasts for Comcast's December-end quarter stand at 76c and $32.34B, respectively, according to Yahoo Finance. Regarding Warner Bros. Discovery, current consensus EPS and revenue forecasts for its December-end quarter stand at (2c) and $9.31B, respectively.TRANSFORMING LANDSCAPE:BofA upgraded Comcastto Buy from Neutral with a price target of $37, up from $31. The media and cable landscape enters 2026 amid significant structural change, which sets the stage for "a transformative year" marked by industry consolidation, evolving distribution strategies, and emerging opportunities across content, technology, and live experiences, the firm tells investors. BofA believes strategic action for NBCU is "a necessity" post the Versantspin and recent deals.TARGET CHANGES:Bernstein lowered the firm's price target on Comcast to $32 from $34 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm believes "we are entering a new era of competition in the industry." Each quarterly update in 2025 reflected worsening competitive dynamics, erasing much of the Telco gains achieved in the first half of the year, while Cable companies continued to decline through the second half, Bernstein argues. This heightened competitive intensity is set to persist into 2026, with little sign of relief given recent strategic actions, it adds.Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar also lowered the firm's price target on Comcast to $28 from $30 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm adjusted price targets in the cable, satellite and Telcom services group as part of its 2026 outlook. 2026 "could establish the longer-term operating road map for convergence, which may also require a different capital allocation template across the industry," the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays says Comcast "could be an interesting value opportunity."MOVING TO THE SIDELINES:Guggenheim downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $30, up from $25. With the Warner Bros. board endorsing the Netflixbid and Paramount pursuing litigation in conjunction with its $30 per share total company offer, the firm says the current state of play tempers its confidence in the emergence of incremental bids. Guggenheim raised its price target based in large part on the existing offers, and lowered its rating to reflect the limited upside to its target, time to close and deal approval risk.NETFLIX, WBD DEAL:Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery have recently announced they amended their definitive agreement for Netflix's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. to an all-cash transaction. The revised agreement simplifies the transaction structure, provides greater certainty of value for WBD stockholders, and accelerates the path to a WBD stockholder vote. The all-cash transaction continues to be valued at $27.75 per WBD share, unchanged from the prior transaction structure. WBD stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global following its separation from WBD. The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash on hand, available credit facilities and committed financing. The amended, all-cash transaction was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Netflix and WBD. Closing remains subject to completion of the Discovery Global separation, receipt of required regulatory approvals, approval of WBD stockholders and other customary closing conditions. The financing structure is not subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.Meanwhile, the chairman of the Senate's antitrust subcommittee is voicing concerns over Netflix's proposed acquisition of the Warner Bros. movie-and-television studios and HBO Max streaming service, The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint. In a letter to Netflix and Warner Discovery leaders, Sen. Mike Lee said the deal "appears likely to raise serious antitrust issues, including the risk of substantially lessening competition in streaming markets." Lee's letter was sent to Netflix Co-Chief Executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and Warner Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav earlier this month.Paramount Skydance also "announced it has filed preliminary proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to solicit shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery to vote against the amended transaction with Netflix and related proposals at the special meeting of WBD stockholders. Paramount has also extended its $30 per share all-cash tender offer to February 20, 2026, reaffirming its commitment to a transaction with WBD at a $108.4 billion enterprise value that is significantly greater and far more certain than the purported $82.7 billion enterprise value of the Netflix transaction. Paramount Contends: In the Netflix transaction, WBD shareholders will receive $27.75 per share in cash, or less if WBD is unsuccessful in putting $17 billion in debt on Discovery Global (assuming the separation occurs as of June 30, 2026). If WBD has to allocate some or all of that debt back to its Streaming and Studios business, that will reduce the per share consideration dollar-for-dollar that WBD shareholders will receive... The Netflix transaction would materially entrench Netflix's market dominance, giving it an estimated 43% share of global Subscription Video on Demand subscribers and leading to higher prices for consumers, reduced compensation for content creators and talent, and significant harm to American and international theatrical exhibitors."