We’ve been watching Paramount (NASDAQ:PARA) pretty closely in the last few weeks, but mostly over its potential sale to one of any three factions. Four if you count “no sale at all” as an option, which some do. But Paramount also has to keep its operations going in the meantime, and to that end, word emerged that the media company has scaled back its global partnership with CJ ENM in South Korea. Investors were relatively happy about this and sent shares up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
CJ ENM may not be a particularly familiar name, but it’s actually one of the leaders in entertainment production in South Korea. The two got together back in December 2021 and not only set up co-productions for new content but also set up content licensing and distribution facilities. It saw Paramount+ get added to the Tving streaming platform as a result.
But, when June 19 dawns, Paramount+ will not be available on Tving any longer. Meanwhile, a CJ ENM channel that appeared on Pluto TV will be unavailable to those users. Reports suggest the main reason was to cut costs, which Paramount has been focusing on lately as it considers its crippling debt load.
Restarting Other Revenue Streams
Paramount is reportedly reconsidering its “Star Trek” involvement. With “Lower Decks” and “Discovery” about to shut down, reports note that Paramount is tapping Simon Kinberg of “X-Men” fame to relaunch a new “Star Trek” movie franchise. This will likely be viewed with some skepticism by fans who are already smarting over the so-called “Kelvin timeline,” but a big-screen Trek is a big-screen Trek, and it might be the cash draw the studio needs right now to help address that load of debt.
Is Paramount a Buy or Sell Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, 10 Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.54% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.64 per share implies 3.65% upside potential.
Is PARA the Right Stock to Buy for Passive Income?
Before you hurry to invest in PARA, think about the following:
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