Discovery is seeing ‘accelerating’ streaming momentum, analyst says in upgrade

Discovery Inc.
DISCA,
-3.90%
is seeing “accelerating” momentum with its streaming business, one reason that Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall now feels bullish on the stock. He upgraded Discovery shares to overweight from equal weight late Wednesday, arguing that “the price is right” following a period of volatility with the shares that temporarily gave them a “non-fundamental premium.” Now that the stock has come down more than 50% from its March high, Cahall sees a return to a “fundamental setup.” Though Discovery shares dropped 3.9% in Wednesday trading after the company’s earnings missed expectations, Cahall saw “only good news” for Discovery’s direct-to-consumer business as first-quarter paying subscribers of 13 million met his estimate. The company also disclosed that it has 15 million subscribers as of today, which is “tracking ahead for Q2 with 1-1.5 million net adds per month,” according to Cahall. He wrote that he’s “always liked the differentiated content as a setup for the DTC pivot, which is now accelerating ahead of our expectations.” He lowered his price target to $46 from $59, accounting for a decline in the stock over recent weeks. Shares were up more than 1% in after-hours trading Wednesday.