Pearson downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA

BofA analyst Adrien de Saint Hilaire downgraded Pearson to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of 865 GBp, down from 910 GBp. The analyst says 2023 "should be a game of two halves" for media and internet, favoring "quality compounders" in the first half and tilting towards cyclicals in the second half. de Saint Hilaire sees cyclical headwinds pressuring advertising and the consumer in the first half, and is bullish on music and bearish on video. Macro headwinds should leading to ad weakness in the first half but rebound afterwards, de Saint Hilaire tells investors in a research note while making several rating changes.