AT&T upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar upgraded AT&T to Overweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $20. The analyst says the Q1 results reinforced the structural push towards cable and telecom convergence, which may benefit telecom near term “but may not end well for either industry in the long run.” The firm upgraded AT&T citing the “mismatch between valuation and improvements in growth quality and execution.” Over the last couple of years, AT&T has been gradually transforming into a steadier execution story with improved visibility around strategy and cash flow, but its valuation continues to be weighed down by legacy investor perceptions, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays believes this “provides a unique window of opportunity with real catalysts.”