Henderson Stays Bullish on Cable

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. cable analyst Ted Henderson restated ratings on several cable stocks last week, calling the downturn in the sector a buying opportunity. Despite sluggish second-quarter results from AT&T Corp. and AOL Time Warner Inc., Henderson said better performance was expected from Cox Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. But the market is focused on negatives right now, he noted, and not on strong operational results. "There is nothing like an unprecedented bearish view on a sector to make a convicted analyst (in the good sense, not the felonious sense) feel like an idiot," Henderson wrote. "However, bullish on the sector is our story and we are sticking to it." Henderson has "strong buy" ratings on Cox, Comcast and Charter and "buy" ratings on Cablevision Systems Corp., Mediacom Communications Corp. and Insight Communications Co.