Morgan Stanley Maintains $52 Target on Viacom, Lowers Estimates

Morgan Stanley reiterates its Equal-weight rating and $52 price target on Viacom, Inc.

but adjusts down estimates as Nick ratings fall as the company tries to balance online and traditional content. Morgan Stanley comments, “Lowering F1Q domestic ad growth to ~2-3% and FY12 to ~4%, but expect acceleration in F2Q due to seasonality: Quarter-to-date live cable ratings for VIA's key demos indicated YoY declines of 13%, including 17% declines at Nick, the most significant network contributor to ad revenues in the December quarter. As such, we are reducing our domestic ad growth estimate for F1Q to ~2-3% and our FY12 by ~150bps to ~4%.” VIA.B closed Wednesday's session trading at $44.76 per share.