| Morgan Stanley Upgrades Symantec, Believes 'Bear Case Behind Us' | |
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While the execution of a restructuring program and a complex spin-off could be a difficult task, Keith Weiss of Morgan Stanley believes that the risk is already reflected in the share price of Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC).
Weiss upgraded the rating on Symantec from Underweight to Equal-weight and raising the price target from $23 to $24, while stating that the schedule spin-off of Veritas for $8 billion would limit the downside risk to the stock and offer a more balanced risk/reward profile.
Weiss mentioned that there had been concerns surrounding potential execution issues associated with the sale of Veritas. The impact of such issues were visible in Symantec's FQ1 results, with a 7 percent year-on-year decline in billings and flat revenue.
However, Weiss believes that "the proposed sale of Veritas for $8B reduces distraction and leaves the remaining Symantec Security business most likely too cheap for significant downside," especially given that there are new products in the pipeline for the security business.
"Symantec still has a lot of work to do to offset mature businesses across consumer, enterprise security and endpoint management, inhibiting a more aggressive view on the stock," the Morgan Stanley report stated.
The company announced it has entered into an agreement with The Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ: CG) for the sale of Veritas. This spin-out is also expected to offer more flexibility to Symantec in the use of cash for M&A and buybacks.
Latest Ratings for SYMC
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
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Aug 2015 | Morgan Stanley | Upgrades | Underperform | Equal-weight | Aug 2015 | Barclays | Maintains | | Equal-weight | Aug 2015 | Piper Jaffray | Maintains | | Neutral |
View More Analyst Ratings for SYMC
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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SYMANTEC est une société d’exploration minière basée aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique. SYMANTEC est cotée aux Etats-Unis D'Amerique. Sa capitalisation boursière aujourd'hui est 14,7 milliards US$ (13,2 milliards €). La valeur de son action a atteint son plus bas niveau récent le 09 octobre 1992 à 0,75 US$, et son plus haut niveau récent le 04 novembre 2019 à 23,75 US$. SYMANTEC possède 618 830 016 actions en circulation. |