Lehman Bros. Inc. analyst Lara Warner initiated coverage of four cable stocks
Tuesday -- three with 'strong buy' ratings -- but it had little effect on their
share prices in a down market.
Warner placed 'strong buy' ratings on Cox Communications Inc., Cablevision
Systems Corp. and Comcast Corp. She rated Charter Communications Inc. a
'buy.'
In a research note, Warner set a 12-month price target of $27 per share on
Charter, adding that the company has made significant inroads in upgrading its
systems.
Cablevision -- which Warner said in her report has 'the most attractive
systems cluster' in the country -- led the group with a 12-month price target of
$108. She set a $55 target for Comcast and a $56 mark for Cox.
But despite the good news, the upgrades affected the stocks little, as the
entire market was down after cautionary statements by Federal Reserve chairman
Alan Greenspan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day down 43.45 points to
10,903.32, and the NASDAQ was off nearly 62 points to 2,427.73.
Charter and Cox were the only gainers of the four MSOs Tuesday, with Charter
rising 25 cents each to $23.88 and Cox increasing 51 cents to $45.47.
Cablevision dropped $1.58 to $83.09 and Comcast fell 25 cents to $43.69.
Earlier Tuesday, Greenspan said in his semiannual report to Congress that
economic growth was stalling, and he warned that a recession, although unlikely,
was possible.
