It’s a big day at Paramount (NASDAQ:PARA), as the entertainment giant celebrated a birthday. This year, Pluto TV turned 10, and back in 2019, became part of the Paramount network. Now, with streaming facing some significant issues of subscriber counts and keeping the content flowing, Paramount finds itself down fractionally in the closing minutes of Monday’s trading.
Tom Ryan, who co-founded Pluto before selling it to Paramount for $340 million, eventually became head of Paramount’s entire streaming operation. He believes that the market is fundamentally underestimating streaming. Ryan cites the potential for global expansion, noting that streaming is “…a universally appealing product around the world.” He also “…fundamentally disagree(s)with…” the analysis that Paramount can’t compete against Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and should simply cede the field.
Interestingly enough, Ryan wouldn’t say much about the potential merger talks, or buyouts, of which there have been quite a bit of late.
Is Paramount Just Naked Gun Now?
While Ryan insists, in grandest Frank Drebin fashion, that there is nothing to see here and we should all please disperse, it’s clear that the fireworks factory that is Paramount is exploding in slow motion directly behind him. In fact, Paramount just canceled a whole load of series. Parents out there should brace for class five tantrums now as their kids discover that shows from the “Rugrats” reboot to “Big Nate” have all been shown the door. The entire Noggin platform is poised for shutdown this year, and layoffs already hit back in February. While there are some hopes the shows will be sold elsewhere, those hopes are tenuous at best.
And with the “Star Trek” universe starting to sputter, what will Paramount call up to replace all the shows it’s losing, lest audiences get bored and unsubscribe?
What is the Projection for Paramount Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on six Buys, eight Holds and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 45.3% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $13.29 per share implies 13.06% upside potential.
