What Made Pivotal Research Downgrade Nielsen Holdings’ Stock?

Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser downgraded Nielsen Holdings (NYSE: NLSN) to Hold today and set a price target of $27. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $26.05.

Wieser noted:

“We see this as a realistic goal as we think that there will be buyers who a) see that Nielsen’s Buy segment can ultimately return to growth and b) see greater value in the combined Watch and Buy segments than in each of them separately. Further, conversations with investors over the past few weeks have conveyed to us that longer-term oriented non-activist investors would not only welcome, but would probably demand significant managerial change well beyond the departure of the company’s CEO, as was announced at the time of the company’s earnings report if Nielsen is to remain as a public company focused solely on its Watch businesses.”

According to TipRanks.com, Wieser is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 10.5% and a 75.1% success rate. Wieser covers the Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Interpublic Group of Companies, 21st Century Fox, and Discovery Comms.

The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for Nielsen Holdings with a $28.10 average price target, a 7.9% upside from current levels. In a report released yesterday, Barclays also upgraded the stock to Hold with a $27 price target.

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Based on Nielsen Holdings’ latest earnings release for the quarter ending June 30, the company reported a quarterly revenue of $1.65 billion and net profit of $72 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $1.64 billion and had a net profit of $131 million.

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Nielsen Holdings Plc engages in the provision of global marketing data collection and analytics services. It operates through the Watch and Buy segment. The Watch segment offers services to media and advertising clients and audience measurement services. The Buy segment provides consumer packaged goods to manufacturers and retailers.