UPDATE: Bank of America Initiates Manchester United at Neutral with $15 PO on Valuation, Costs

Bank of America initiated its coverage on Manchester United MANU with a Neutral rating and a price objective of $15 per share. Bank of America said, "Our EV/EBITDA / P/E derived PO implies a 2013E EV/EBITDA multiple of 14.3x, a premium to peers due to MANU's high growth profile, pure play sport status and scarcity/trophy value. However, given the high multiple nature of the story and variability surrounding on-field performance, wage costs and the emergence of less visible commercial opportunities, we view MANU's risk/reward as balanced (bull case upside = 1.2x bear case risk), supporting our Neutral rating relative to other Media & Entertainment stocks." Manchester United closed at $13.30 on Friday.