Comcast spinoff Versant announces board of directors. Here's the slate

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

MET-2.5%

CMCSA-0.24%

JNJ-0.18%

Source: CNBC

Updated: Jul 24 2025

0mins

Source: CNBC

Versant Board Announcement: Comcast has revealed the board members for its upcoming cable networks spinoff, Versant, which will oversee NBCUniversal's cable channels and digital platforms. Mark Lazarus will serve as CEO, with David Novak as chairman.
Spinoff Completion Timeline: The spinoff is expected to be finalized by the end of this year, marking a significant step in establishing Versant as an independent media company.

MET

$75+Infinity%1D

Analyst Views on MET

Wall Street analysts forecast MET stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for MET is 95.25 USD with a low forecast of 84.00 USD and a high forecast of 108.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

12 Analyst Rating

11 Buy

1 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 76.920

Low

84.00

Averages

95.25

High

108.00

Current: 76.920

Low

84.00

Averages

95.25

High

108.00

Barclays

Overweight -> NULL

downgrade

$98 -> $90

2026-01-08

Reason

Barclays

Price Target

$98 -> $90

AI Analysis

2026-01-08

downgrade

Overweight -> NULL

Reason

Barclays lowered the firm's price target on MetLife to $90 from $98 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm is "cautiously optimistic" on life insurers heading into 2026, saying capital strength, cash flow, and consolidation offset headwinds like spread compression and technology spend. Barclays adjusted ratings and price targets as part of its 2026 outlook.

UBS

downgrade

$95 -> $94

2026-01-08

Reason

UBS

Price Target

$95 -> $94

2026-01-08

downgrade

Reason

UBS lowered the firm's price target on MetLife to $94 from $95.

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Evercore ISI

Outperform -> In Line

downgrade

$108 -> $97

2026-01-06

Reason

Evercore ISI

Price Target

$108 -> $97

2026-01-06

downgrade

Outperform -> In Line

Reason

Evercore ISI downgraded MetLife to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $97, down from $108, and removed MetLife from the Evercore ISI Core List. Despite a solid Q3 earnings print, the downgrade reflects potential downside to forward earnings, relatively high valuation versus mid-cap peers, and pressure from low new-money spreads alongside higher commercial mortgage loan risk, which could hurt both multiples and earnings if credit or commercial real estate conditions worsen, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While additional risk transfer deals could be a catalyst, execution may be delayed as the company appears willing to wait for better pricing, particularly in long-term care where margins and cash flow remain positive.

BofA

Joshua Shanker

Buy

downgrade

$100 -> $98

2026-01-05

Reason

BofA

Joshua Shanker

Price Target

$100 -> $98

2026-01-05

downgrade

Buy

Reason

BofA analyst Joshua Shanker lowered the firm's price target on MetLife to $98 from $100 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. As in 2025, the pricing trends for most P&C insurance products do not appear positive, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While pricing for liability lines remains positive, it seems that loss costs are rising more steeply than prices, the analyst says, adding that personal auto rates are flattish, while some investors are expecting decline in response to high profitability. The firm added, however, that underwriter valuations hardly look expensive, even as fundamentals have tipped in the "wrong direction."

About MET

MetLife, Inc. is a financial services company, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. Its segments include Group Benefits; Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS); Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and MetLife Holdings. Group Benefits segment offers life insurance, dental, group short- and long-term disability, paid family and medical leave, individual disability, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, accident and health insurance, and vision, as well as prepaid legal plans and pet insurance. RIS segment provides funding and financing solutions that help institutional customers mitigate and manage liabilities primarily associated with their employee benefit programs using a spectrum of life and annuity-based insurance and investment products. It operates across EMEA in both developed (Western Europe) and emerging (Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) markets.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.