Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Given New $33.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Comcast to $33.00 (from $31.00) and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 12% upside from the stock's recent price.
• Comcast beat Q1 expectations with $0.79 EPS versus $0.73 expected and revenue of $31.46B (vs. $30.42B), driven by advertising/content strength and improving broadband and wireless trends, while management expects Peacock to approach profitability and conversion of free wireless lines to paid in 2H 2026.
• Despite the beat, shares fell about 6.9% to $29.45; analyst coverage remains mixed with a consensus "Hold" and an average target of $35.13 (9 Buys, 17 Holds, 2 Sells), and concerns persist around longer-term subscriber pressure and recent insider selling.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $33.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the cable giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.05% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Comcast from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Comcast in a report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (up from $32.79) on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Comcast from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Comcast from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.13.

Comcast Stock Down 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.45. 3,732,290 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,797,797. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.11. Comcast has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $36.66. The stock has a market cap of $105.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The cable giant reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.06. Comcast had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 16.17%.The business had revenue of $31.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Comcast's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Comcast will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comcast news, CEO Michael J. Cavanagh sold 57,947 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.66, for a total value of $1,892,549.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 622,336 shares in the company, valued at $20,325,493.76. The trade was a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMCSA. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Comcast by 9.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,536,937 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $236,810,000 after purchasing an additional 665,635 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Comcast by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 340,764 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $10,707,000 after purchasing an additional 146,339 shares during the period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 1.0% in the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 11,327,445 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $355,908,000 after acquiring an additional 113,461 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Comcast by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 952,154 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $29,917,000 after purchasing an additional 32,262 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 177,365 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $5,573,000 after acquiring an additional 40,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 financial beat — Comcast reported adjusted EPS of $0.79 vs. $0.73 expected and revenue of $31.46B (vs. ~$30.4B est.), driven by advertising and content strength. This is the principal catalyst for the rally as top- and bottom-line beats reduce short-term uncertainty. Comcast beats estimates on sports boost, easing broadband losses
• Positive Sentiment: Sports-driven ad spike and content momentum — incremental ad revenue from the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LX materially boosted the Content segment and helped revenue growth. Winter Olympics and Super Bowl power Comcast's Q1 ad sales spike
• Positive Sentiment: Connectivity trends improving — domestic residential broadband net losses narrowed (to ~65k) and Comcast added a large number of wireless lines (record mobile additions), signaling stabilization in core subscriber trends that investors view as a turning point. Comcast beats revenue, earnings expectations as broadband losses improve
• Positive Sentiment: Peacock and wireless monetization outlook — management expects Peacock to approach profitability next quarter and anticipates converting the majority of free wireless lines to paid in 2H 2026, suggesting future margin improvement. Comcast anticipates converting the significant majority of free wireless lines to paid in 2H
• Neutral Sentiment: New wireless plans / product expansion — Xfinity Mobile launched premium plans (Mobile Plus, Mobile Select) that could help ARPU and customer retention, but impact will be gradual. Xfinity Mobile Launches Mobile Plus and Mobile Select
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — DCF / P/E analyses have suggested potential upside versus the market price, which supports buy-side interest but depends on execution (broadband stabilization, Peacock profitability). Is Comcast (CMCSA) Offering Value After DCF And P/E Suggest Large Upside To Fair Value?
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term subscriber pressure and share drag — despite improvement this quarter, Comcast’s stock has been pressured by a year-long decline tied to persistent broadband subscriber losses; investors will watch whether the improvement sustains. Comcast Stock Is in a Slump. Earnings Must Show Its Subscriber Exodus Is Slowing.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider/institutional flows — recent filings show notable institutional position changes and some insider selling; while not unusual, these actions can weigh on sentiment if execution slips. Comcast shares jump as Q1 results top expectations and broadband losses improve

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal's assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.

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