No, we’re not recycling a story from yesterday. Today it’s Credit Suisse that has dropped coverage of broadcasting stocks, bidding farewell to John Klim. That’s five broadcast analysts pink-slipped in recent months, with a sixth gone because his coverage list was reworked.
Klim’s coverage list had included CBS, Citadel, Cox Radio, Emmis, Entercom, Radio One, Salem, Saga and Westwood One, along with Lamar and Clear Channel Outdoor in the outdoor advertising sector and a couple of other media-related stocks. There was no word on whether anyone at Credit Suisse might pick up any of them.
RBR/TVBR observation: Will anyone else get the boot? We can identify about 13 Wall Street analysts left who have some pure-play broadcasting stocks on their coverage list. Of those, only about three or four can be said to focus almost exclusively on radio, TV and outdoor. Are they confident that their employers are in for the long-haul in providing research on broadcasting stocks, including the particularly unpopular radio segment? Or should they be watching for an opportunity to shift to another sector if a position opens up? We certainly couldn’t blame them for making such a move.
