Morgan Stanley Lowers Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Price Target to $38.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has downgraded Comcast's price target from $40.00 to $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.92% from the current stock price.
• Comcast's stock has been rated with a consensus of "Hold" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $40.73.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.25 per share, surpassing consensus estimates of $1.18, with revenue of $30.31 billion for the quarter.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the cable giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.23% from the stock's current price.

CMCSA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Comcast from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas lowered Comcast from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on Comcast from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Comcast from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.73.

Comcast Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CMCSA traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.42. 4,751,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,441,965. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Comcast has a 12-month low of $31.44 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The firm has a market cap of $121.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $34.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.05.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The cable giant reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $30.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.81 billion. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 18.44%. Comcast's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comcast will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Comcast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 1st quarter worth approximately $940,015,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 94,217,741 shares of the cable giant's stock worth $3,476,635,000 after buying an additional 15,115,074 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Comcast by 1,959.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,228,732 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $488,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,586,329 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Comcast by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 141,680,277 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $5,317,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,255,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Comcast by 724.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,160,649 shares of the cable giant's stock valued at $374,927,000 after purchasing an additional 8,928,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.32% of the company's stock.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.