Viacom, Disney See Stock Prices Head In Different Directions

Two big cable TV network group stocks went in different directions on the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend: Viacom went lower and Discovery Communications moved higher.

Viacom was down nearly 2.2% to $26.67, while Discovery was 3.1% higher to $17.79 -- due to a couple of different recommendations: one for Discovery and another against Viacom on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”

In addition, B. Riley FBR Inc. trimmed its price target for Viacom to $30.00 from $33.00.

“We continue to see squishy trends in core TV,” writes Barton Crockett, media analyst at B. Riley FBR, on Wednesday. He says some of this reflects a recent domestic affiliate deal with Charter Communications, which could put pressure on long-term affiliate revenues for Viacom.

“The ad revenue outlook remains stubbornly sluggish,” he adds.

Recently, Viacom has been a concern among some analysts, due to lower projections when it comes to traditional carriage fees.

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Media analysts have had concerns about both cable TV companies -- especially when it comes to deals made with new virtual/digital pay TV providers. TV networks with higher-value broadcast networks and cable channels are believed to have better leverage in make deals than those pure-play cable TV network groups.

MoffettNathanson Research recently said Viacom only averages a 19% share of its cable networks on new digital TV providers -- such as Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Now and Youtube TV. Discovery is slightly better at 20%.

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