Analyst: New York Times' Q3 Likely Ended On A Weak Note

Jefferies' John Janedis cut his third quarter estimates on New York Times Co NYT on weak print trends.

Janedis trimmed his third quarter print ad growth estimates to -17 percent from -14 percent as its NYT Ad Lineage tracker indicates the September quarter finished on a weak note.

Further, the analyst sees third quarter advertising to come in below guidance, with risk to the fourth quarter assuming that print advertising will improve to -8 percent.

"Our tracker indicates that lineage weakened as the qtr progressed. On NYT's 2Q earnings call, mgmt noted that they lacked visibility into Sept which posed a risk to total adv guid (Sept. = ~45%+ of 3Q adv). There does not appear to be a meaningful impact from political advertising," Janedis wrote in a note.

The analyst now expects third quarter revenue, EBITDA and EPS at $362 million (FC: $366.5M), $34 million (FC: $37M), and $0.03 (FC: $0.06). Previously, the analyst expected $365 million, $36 million, and $0.04, respectively.

For FY 2016, Janedis slashed his EPS/revenue forecast to $1.56 billion/$0.54 from $1.56 billion/$0.55. Consensus calls for EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $1.56 billion.

Janedis has a Hold rating and $13 price target on shares, which are currently down 2.07 percent to $12.05.