NWS got dump at the open and down 3% at one stage but it then continue to recover always to the close despite the Dow dropping 123 points. I suppose one can assume US buyers starting to emerge for the S&P inclusion. Also Merrill Lynch & Morgan Stanley like the result and are upgrading NWS to strong buy.
The question is will instos continue to dump in Oz ? At the close, NCP is value around $11.15. Good luck. See analysts comments below.
1349 [Dow Jones] STOCK CALL: Morgan Stanley retains Overweight on News Corp. (NCP) following 4Q results. "News Corp. exceeded our revenue and EBIT forecasts for 4Q04 and their guidance for FY05 is in line with our forecasts," New York analyst Richard Bilotti says in note. Price target US$43 vs last ADR price US$32. (IGP)
Fox pressured amid cautious view
By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:52 PM ET Aug. 12, 2004
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of Fox lost ground Thursday after the broadcasting and movie company lowered Wall Street's growth expectations for this year.
Fox (FOX: news, chart, profile) and its parent News Corp. (NWS: news, chart, profile) issued earnings results on Wednesday afternoon. In Thursday trading, Fox pared losses and closed by dropping 13 cents to $25.25. News Corp. also cut early losses by declining 17 cents to $31.83.
In its report, Fox said it expects pretax cash flow growth in the "high-single-digit" percentage range for fiscal 2005.
"We view this as very conservative considering the underlying FY05 (fiscal year 2005) advertising growth assumption of 'mid-single digits,' " said Jessica Reif Cohen, Merrill Lynch's media analyst, in a new research report.
Though last year was "stellar" for the company's movie division, we take solace that this performance was achieved with few theatrical blockbusters," the Merrill analyst added.
She said the steady flow of "well-calculated releases" will pump up Fox's home video output this year, along with the anticipated DVD release of the original "Star Wars" trilogy in late September and home-video distribution rights to "The Passion of the Christ."
Reif Cohen also praised parent News Corp.'s prospects.
News Corp.'s results "yet again, demonstrate broad-based success across all operating divisions, reporting double-digital operating income increases at nearly every segment." Her conclusion was that News Corp. represented "the most balanced of the companies within our coverage universe."
News Corp. has long focused on having a globally diversified revenue stream. It is a significant investor in BSkyB (BSY: news, chart, profile), for instance, giving it a large presence in the U.K. In the U.S., besides Fox, it's also the owner of the New York Post.
Merrill Lynch said it is "strongly" reiterating its "buy" investment rating on News Corp.'s stock. It has attached a $47 price target for the shares over the next 52 weeks.
