Paramount lacks strategic direction amid management change, says Barclays

Barclays keeps an Underweight rating on Paramount Global with a $12 price target following the Q1 report. The quarter benefited from content write-offs and the Superbowl, but the “unusual management structure and a sale process riven with conflicts are likely to complicate execution further in an already challenged environment,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that while the announcement on management changes has been broadcast in the press prior to the actual change, “what stands out is the lack of transparency in decision making.” The new management team did not offer any explanation for the changes nor any sense of a plan or a roadmap going forward and did not take any questions on the earnings call, notes Barclays. It believes Paramount’s execution is likely to suffer further given the lack of strategic direction.