Baird Cuts AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) to Neutral Amid Several Worries
Get Alerts T Hot Sheet
Price: $16.58 -1.37%
Rating Summary:
20 Buy, 29 Hold, 2 Sell
Rating Trend: Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 12 | New: 13
Rating Summary:
20 Buy, 29 Hold, 2 Sell
Rating Trend: Up
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 12 | New: 13
Join SI Premium – FREE
Baird's William Power downgraded shares of AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) from Outperform to Neutral in an early-morning research note Thursday. The analyst cited a slowdown in sales growth, ever-increasing data traffic, and continued needs for fresh spectrum.
Power pointed to free cash flow for the US's major carriers which has barely grown since 2007, all while Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) free cash flow has surged from about $6 billion to now over $40 billion.
Elsewhere, the Baird analyst noted MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) is generating solid cash, however has ongoing spectrum needs. Sprint (NYSE: S) and Leap (Nasdaq: LEAP), on the other hand, are rapidly burning through cash in addition to a high level of debt. The analyst believes these factors will likely limit the companies long-term access to capital.
AT&T shares are down 0.6 percent to $31.18 at last check; shares of Verizon are down 0.4 percent to $38.09.
Check out our Ratings Insider portal to get the most comprehensive and up-to-date analyst coverage on the Street.
Power pointed to free cash flow for the US's major carriers which has barely grown since 2007, all while Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) free cash flow has surged from about $6 billion to now over $40 billion.
Elsewhere, the Baird analyst noted MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) is generating solid cash, however has ongoing spectrum needs. Sprint (NYSE: S) and Leap (Nasdaq: LEAP), on the other hand, are rapidly burning through cash in addition to a high level of debt. The analyst believes these factors will likely limit the companies long-term access to capital.
AT&T shares are down 0.6 percent to $31.18 at last check; shares of Verizon are down 0.4 percent to $38.09.
Check out our Ratings Insider portal to get the most comprehensive and up-to-date analyst coverage on the Street.
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- JPMorgan Downgrades Dassault Systemes SE (DSY:FP) (DASTY) to Neutral
- Inter Parfums (IPAR) PT Lowered to $172 at Piper Sandler
- Bank of N.T. Butterfield (NTB) PT Raised to $38 at Piper Sandler
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Analyst Comments, DowngradesRelated Entities
Robert W BairdSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!