Wells Fargo Says ViacomCBS Cred Damaged ‘Irreparably’

By Kim Khan

Investing.com – ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:) fell for the second session in a row as Wall Street postulated that its disappointing quarterly numbers weren’t a blip.

Shares dropped 3.6% Friday.

The broadcast and media company reported a net loss and missed earnings expectations by a wide margin yesterday, sending shares down sharply.

Guidance was also an unpleasant surprise. The company said it predicts earnings of $5.15 to $5.50 per share, well shy of the S&P Capital IQ consensus of $5.97 per share.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:) resumed coverage of the stock today and gave it an underweight rating and a price target of $25, about $3 from where it stands now.

The weak guidance and big fourth-quarter miss means the credibility of the company’s management is “irreparably damaged for the time being,” Wells Fargo (NYSE:) analyst Steven Cahall wrote in a note.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish admitted yesterday the company faced “a significant set of merger-related items that were a headwind for expenses and cash flow” and was in a transitional period.

The company is looking to focus on streaming through this year.

It is planning on launching a new service combining free and paid services of CBS, programming from brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET as well as films from the Paramount movies studio, Reuters reported last week.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.