Albert Fried Cuts MSG On Near Term Concerns

The Knicks aren't the only ones about to make cuts this offseason. Albert Fried & Co. cut their price target on Madison Square Garden Co

from $200 to $170. Here is how Albert Fried's Rich Tullo arrived at their new forecast. Due to the NY Rangers early playoff exit, Tullo adjusted revenues from $254 million in prior year to $211 million this year, as their were only 6 game dates vs. 17 game dates last year. Tullo sees operating income down with loss of $32 million, including a $7 million write down from the Summer Spectacular. An additional $5 million loss is contributed from ancillary investments such as Tribeca Enterprises, Azoff MSG Entertainment, Fuse, and Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. Tullo finalizes his thoughts, stating this, "We attribute the discount valuation to slowing topline growth following the lift from the MSG transformation which expanded Luxury Box and Sponsorship revenue opportunities. We also think following the spin-out from MSGN investors expected a greater pace of share repurchases and that has not happened." Madison Square Garden closed up 0.85% on the day at $168.96/share.