Oppenheimer downgrades Charter to Perform, removes price target

As previously reported, Oppenheimer downgraded Charter (CHTR) to Perform from Outperform and removing the firm’s $500 price target The firm notes Q3 revenue declined 0.9% year-over-year to $13.7B with EBITDA declining for the first time on higher OpEx related to investments in its new go-to-market strategy. Oppenheimer thinks Charter has been right about video, with its new model delivering demonstrably better sub trends, but this is overshadowed by the secular decline in its broadband base. Street estimates look too high for the next five years, the firm adds. The company has high leverage and next year’s planned merger with Cox will likely entail integration headwinds in the short term, argues Oppenheimer.