Needham & Company Downgrades Rentrak (RENT) to Buy Amid comScore Merger

Needham & Company downgraded Rentrak (NASDAQ: RENT) from Strong Buy to Buy with a price target of $60.00 (from $85.00) after comScore agreed to acquire 100% of RENT in an all-stock transaction. SCOR will pay RENT shareholders 1.15 SCOR shares for each RENT share. Based on SCOR's $45 after-market price, this implies value for RENT shareholders of about $52 per RENT share, about a 20% premium to RENT's closing price yesterday. The deal is expected to close in 1Q16.

Analyst Laura Martin commented, "We downgrade RENT from Strong Buy to Buy and we are buyers of RENT as a way to participate in the combined company because: a) RENT currently trades at a discount; b) for each dollar move upward in SCOR's share price, each RENT share moves up 1.15x that amount; and c) if the deal breaks, we believe there are other potential purchasers for RENT."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Rentrak click here. For more ratings news on Rentrak click here.

Shares of Rentrak closed at $43.39 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• EQT Corp. (EQT) PT Lowered to $46 at Wolfe Research
• KKR Real Estate Financial Trust (KREF) PT Lowered to $12 at JMP Securities
• Mr. Cooper Group Inc. (COOP) PT Raised to $87 at Jefferies