Benchmark halves Altice USA target to $5, calls Cheddar sale ‘mild positive’

Benchmark lowered the firm’s price target on Altice USA to $5 from $10 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares, which the analyst says appear to be benefiting from yesterday’s announced sale of Cheddar News to Archetype as well as “general activity around” Patrick Drahi’s European assets off interest in on-the-auction-block Altice Portugal. Though Altice USA needs to deliver on EBITDA stabilization to “emerge as a mainstream equity investment,” the stock still offers a credible opportunity when conceptualized as a NY Metro area “fiber LEAP” and EBITDA should “credibly stabilize in 2024,” says the analyst, who calls the Cheddar News sale a “mild positive for focus” and argues that fiber remains pivotal for revitalizing, or at least stabilizing, Altice’s operating and financial performance.