Barclays Upgrades Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) to Strong Sell

Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PSKY. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Paramount Skydance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Paramount Skydance from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Paramount Skydance in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Paramount Skydance from $13.00 to $8.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Paramount Skydance in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Paramount Skydance Stock Down 3.9%

Paramount Skydance stock opened at $10.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.50. Paramount Skydance has a 52-week low of $7.62 and a 52-week high of $20.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.12.

Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.03. Paramount Skydance had a negative net margin of 2.13% and a positive return on equity of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Paramount Skydance will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Paramount Skydance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Paramount Skydance by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 15,088,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,180,000 after purchasing an additional 5,221,622 shares in the last quarter. MTCO Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Skydance by 21.4% in the second quarter. MTCO Ltd. now owns 7,650,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,429,000 after buying an additional 1,350,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Paramount Skydance by 126.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,970,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,812,000 after buying an additional 2,216,433 shares in the last quarter. LTS Liquid Investments LLC increased its holdings in Paramount Skydance by 68.7% during the 1st quarter. LTS Liquid Investments LLC now owns 2,030,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,316,000 after acquiring an additional 827,248 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Paramount Skydance by 106.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,597,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,413,000 after purchasing an additional 823,629 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Paramount Skydance

Here are the key news stories impacting Paramount Skydance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The Federal Communications Commission approved foreign investment supporting Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing one important regulatory hurdle. However, the transaction still faces legal challenges. Reuters article on FCC approval
• Positive Sentiment: California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he remains open to settlement talks if Paramount engages in good faith. A settlement could reduce the legal overhang and improve the likelihood of the merger closing. New York Post article on settlement talks
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary argues that PSKY could be undervalued after a prolonged decline, offering potential upside if management executes the merger and improves the combined company’s financial performance. Yahoo Finance article on PSKY valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed, reflecting uncertainty over PSKY’s valuation and the risks associated with the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction. Globe and Mail analyst sentiment article
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and an $8 price target, citing leverage, restructuring and execution risks tied to the proposed mega-merger. The bearish report appears to have amplified selling pressure. Barron’s article on merger risks
• Negative Sentiment: The merger remains delayed by a lawsuit involving California and other state attorneys general, leaving the closing timetable uncertain even after the FCC approval. Quiver Quantitative article on merger delays
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount Skydance has reportedly threatened to leave California amid the merger dispute. Such a move could create additional political friction, disruption and uncertainty around the company’s Hollywood operations. MSN article on Paramount leaving California

About Paramount Skydance

Paramount Skydance Corporation (NASDAQ: PSKY) is a global media and entertainment company formed through the combination of Paramount Global and Skydance Media. The company develops, produces and distributes feature films, television programming and other video content for audiences in the United States and international markets.

Its portfolio includes Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime and other well-known entertainment brands. Paramount Skydance also operates streaming services including Paramount+ and Pluto TV, as well as businesses involved in television broadcasting, news, sports and content licensing.

The company’s history includes Paramount Pictures, one of Hollywood’s longstanding film studios, and Skydance Media, a production company founded in 2010 by David Ellison.