CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
We are lowering our target price by $1 to $10, using a narrower risk premium and a forward TEV/EBITDA of 6.5x, below direct peer average. We think accelerated growth and profits for MAX video streaming may take longer. We believe the consensus is optimistic with a $13.70 target price that suggests a scenario for higher growth in EBITDA and profitability. A year ago, we thought EBITDA would show significant growth in ’24, but we see the consensus estimate at $9.9B compared to $10.2B actual EBITDA in ’23. Also, the ’25 consensus estimate of $10.4B equates to less than 5% EBITDA growth. In our view, the share price reflects less patience for WBD to achieve the transformation of its linear networks to MAX. Streaming subscriber gains were modest in Q1 ’23, and WBD ended ’23 with 97.7M DTC subscribers; 52.0M (-5% Y/Y) were domestic subscribers and 45.6M (+7.8%) were international. A positive catalyst could be the sale of non-core assets apart from its core strategy to reduce $43.6B in total debt outstanding.