Nielsen Gets Higher Rating, On Wall Street

Citing "a renewed focus on measurement" in the wake of Google's decision to abandon "identifier" tracking and ad targeting, a major equities research firm has upgraded Nielsen shares from a "market perform" to "outperform" -- a Wall Street rating it hasn't had in more than two years.

Noting that the only part of Nielsen's business that likely will be negatively impacted by Google's move is Nielsen Marketing Cloud (formerly cookie-reliant DMP Excelate), BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon says all other trends are moving in Nielsen's direction.

"This was originally a third-party cookie data exchange and data management platform, that helped lead Nielsen’s engagement in the programmatic advertising ecosystem," Salmon said of the impact on Nielsen Marketing Cloud, adding: "However, we don’t believe this business is overly material and that it has been undergoing a transition for several years now."

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The revised rating, sent in a note to investors this morning, also boosts the target price of Nielsen shares from $20 to $30.

Salmon added that Nielsen's future has also brightened due to a number of promising strategic partnerships it has entered recently, including its "advanced video advertising" alliance with connected TV giant Roku.

"Technically the expanded partnership brings greater use of Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) and Digital Content Ratings (DCR) within the growing Roku ecosystem, and ensures that the new Nielsen One cross screen measurement system will be integrated with a vital CTV platform. This all builds on the impressive unveiling of Nielsen One and the investor day late last year," Salmon concluded.

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