Telecommunications

Verizon’s $5.8 billion charge is the latest sign of legacy phone companies adapting to how businesses connect — specifically, for less money after vetting more competitors. AT&T’s business wireline unit took a $13.5 billion write-down a year earlier for similar reasons. The lowered expectations reflect a commercial wireline market that’s been shrinking since 2016, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett says. “The forces at work here are secular, and they are only getting worse,” he says. “It’s doubly challenging for Verizon and AT&T as the two largest players in the market by far.”

Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino upgrades Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) from Peer Perform to Outperform and announces $46 price target.

Verizon Communications Inc. ((NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/04/2024 16.78% Wolfe Research → $46 Upgrades Peer Perform → Outperform 01/03/2024 14.24% Keybanc → $45 Upgrades Sector Weight → Overweight 12/19/2023 9.16% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 12/14/2023 6.63% Citigroup $40 → $42 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 1.55% Wells Fargo $35 → $40 Maintains Equal-Weight 11/02/2023 14.24% Tigress Financial $64 → $45 Maintains Buy 10/25/2023 -3.53% Barclays $37 → $38 Upgrades Equal-Weight → Overweight 08/29/2023 1.55% Citigroup $39 → $40 Upgrades Neutral → Buy 08/22/2023 9.16% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 08/03/2023 11.7% Morgan Stanley $44 → $44 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 07/27/2023 -0.99% Citigroup $42 → $39 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 -8.61% Goldman Sachs $41 → $36 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 6.63% Raymond James $51 → $42 Maintains Outperform 07/20/2023 -8.61% Wells Fargo $40 → $36

Verizon Communications Inc. ((NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/03/2024 14.65% Keybanc → $45 Upgrades Sector Weight → Overweight 12/19/2023 9.55% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 12/14/2023 7.01% Citigroup $40 → $42 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 1.91% Wells Fargo $35 → $40 Maintains Equal-Weight 11/02/2023 14.65% Tigress Financial $64 → $45 Maintains Buy 10/25/2023 -3.18% Barclays $37 → $38 Upgrades Equal-Weight → Overweight 08/29/2023 1.91% Citigroup $39 → $40 Upgrades Neutral → Buy 08/22/2023 9.55% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 08/03/2023 12.1% Morgan Stanley $44 → $44 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 07/27/2023 -0.64% Citigroup $42 → $39 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 -8.28% Goldman Sachs $41 → $36 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 7.01% Raymond James $51 → $42 Maintains Outperform 07/20/2023 -8.28% Wells Fargo $40 → $36 Maintains Equal-Weight 07/18/2023 12.1% Morgan Stanley $44 → $44 Reiterates Overweight

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have been in focus following news of a merger between Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS). Contrary to peers, Verizon should deliver an improvement in postpaid phone net additions, despite a decline in market share, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets. The Verizon Communications Analyst: Brandon Nispel upgraded the rating for Verizon Communications from Sector Weight to Overweight, with a price target of $45. The Verizon Communications Thesis: The company is likely to report year-on-year improvements in postpaid phone net adds in every quarter in 2024, versus declines for T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), Nispel said in the upgrade note. Check out other analyst stock ratings. “We expect VZ’s Consumer Broadband business to achieve 1.16M net adds in ’23 and 1.03M in ’24, which compares to our expectations for T of -170K in ’23 and -96K in ’24,” the analyst wrote. “We expect VZ to outperform T given VZ’s growing FiOS (Fiber) and 5G

Verizon Communications Inc. ((NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 12/19/2023 14.15% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 12/14/2023 11.49% Citigroup $40 → $42 Maintains Buy 12/13/2023 6.19% Wells Fargo $35 → $40 Maintains Equal-Weight 11/02/2023 19.46% Tigress Financial $64 → $45 Maintains Buy 10/25/2023 0.88% Barclays $37 → $38 Upgrades Equal-Weight → Overweight 08/29/2023 6.19% Citigroup $39 → $40 Upgrades Neutral → Buy 08/22/2023 14.15% Oppenheimer → $43 Reiterates Outperform → Outperform 08/03/2023 16.8% Morgan Stanley $44 → $44 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 07/27/2023 3.53% Citigroup $42 → $39 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 -4.43% Goldman Sachs $41 → $36 Maintains Neutral 07/26/2023 11.49% Raymond James $51 → $42 Maintains Outperform 07/20/2023 -4.43% Wells Fargo $40 → $36 Maintains Equal-Weight 07/18/2023 16.8% Morgan Stanley $44 → $44 Reiterates Overweight → Overweight 06/05/2023 3.53% HSBC $42.5 → $39 Maintains Hold

Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan reiterates Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) with a Outperform and maintains $43 price target.