Lumen upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi

Citi analyst Michael Rollins upgraded Lumen to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $3.15, up from $1.25. The announced new business of $5B and indicated pipeline of $7B are likely to provide the company with financial flexibility to eventually reduce net debt leverage, improve go-forward financial performance, and open up strategic scenarios that could include an eventual split between the ILEC and business segment, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Lumen’s business wins should be an incremental positive for the shares.