Comcast Stock (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Notches Up as Speculation About Charter Merger Remains

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

The landscape these days in streaming services, and the internet access that underpins them, is still very much a dynamic place with lots of changes, some of which do not even make much sense. But communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) is still front and center, as speculation about a merger between itself and Charter (CHTR) is still in play, despite a recent move from Charter that puts it in a better position to compete with Comcast. Regardless, Comcast gained nicely in Tuesday afternoon's trading, as shares gained nearly 1.5% in the session.
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More specifically, a lot of people are wondering about a connection between Comcast and the Spectrum brand. This is particularly odd given that Charter only recently set up a deal between itself and Cox Communications, valued at around $34.5 billion. This deal has taken some of the wind out of the sails of those who believe a Comcast / Charter deal is still in the cards.
However, just because the Charter / Cox deal exists, reports note, does not mean that there is no future in a Comcast / Charter deal. After all, the linear television market is still a shambles thanks to the growth of streaming services, which means that even regulatory bodies may not look askance at two major operations getting together to fend off a souring overall market. It also does not hurt that the two are already in cooperation with each other with the Xumo streaming platform.
A New Baseball Deal
Comcast, however, is hardly putting all its eggs in one basket as far as that purely hypothetical deal goes. Reports note that the Texas Rangers baseball team has tapped Comcast to serve as the Managed Channel Origination (MCO) platform for the Rangers Sports Network, a regional sports network controlled by the team.
The network in question handles both production and distribution of game broadcasts, reports note, while also handling staffing efforts behind the scenes, among other things. Senior Vice President of Broadcast for the Texas Rangers, Angie Swint, noted 'Their (Comcast's) expertise in managed services and comprehensive broadcast solutions enables us to focus on delivering an unparalleled experience for Rangers fans, while also providing us with more control over our distribution channels and future growth.'
Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on nine Buys, nine Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.26% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $40.86 per share implies 16.78% upside potential.
See more CMCSA analyst ratings
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