Benchmark Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Stock Price

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Benchmark from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the cable giant’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 60.47% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CMCSA. Williams Trading set a $40.00 price target on shares of Comcast in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Comcast from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Comcast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Oppenheimer set a $38.00 price target on Comcast in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Pivotal Research reduced their price objective on Comcast from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comcast presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.37.

Comcast Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of CMCSA stock opened at $27.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81. Comcast has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $38.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.15.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 13th. The cable giant reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $30.34 billion during the quarter. Comcast had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 18.33%. Equities research analysts predict that Comcast will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comcast

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMCSA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Comcast during the second quarter worth $3,528,361,000. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Comcast by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 111,272,320 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $3,971,309,000 after buying an additional 17,054,579 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Comcast by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,706,330 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,059,053,000 after buying an additional 10,633,206 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Comcast by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,687,135 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $5,677,190,000 after buying an additional 7,917,335 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Comcast by 1,356.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 6,556,098 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $205,993,000 after acquiring an additional 6,105,867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Comcast

Here are the key news stories impacting Comcast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark kept a “buy” rating and trimmed its price target slightly to $44, signaling still-constructive analyst support and a sizable implied upside relative to current levels. Benchmark adjusts price target
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and value-oriented pieces point to Comcast’s strong free cash flow, solid dividend and diversified businesses (broadband, wireless, parks, advertising) — a narrative that supports a longer-term recovery if earnings execution continues. MarketBeat CMCSA value thesis
• Positive Sentiment: Some coverage notes Comcast can benefit from the Versant separation — letting management focus capital on broadband, wireless and Peacock — which could improve margins and strategy clarity over time. Seeking Alpha on Comcast positives
• Neutral Sentiment: Comcast is scheduled to report Q4 2025 results soon; previews note items investors will watch (broadband adds, advertising recovery, Peacock trends, parks performance). Upcoming results can drive near-term volatility. Yahoo Finance earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and strategy news: Xumo (Comcast-related) launched an identity solution to improve streaming ad targeting — a small positive for ad revenue potential but unlikely to move the stock immediately. BusinessWire on Xumo
• Negative Sentiment: Versant’s market debut was weak — shares slid on their first day — which raises questions about market appetite for the carved-out media assets and may have increased near-term uncertainty over valuation realization from the spin-off. MarketWatch on Versant debut
• Negative Sentiment: Arete downgraded Comcast from “neutral” to “sell” and set a $23 target, a bearish signal that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling from funds sensitive to analyst ratings. TickerReport on Arete downgrade

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal’s assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.