- T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) is rising today (up 2.2%), perhaps due to John Malone's M&A speculation, but in spite of a downgrade to Neutral at MoffettNathanson.
- "The broad thematic underpinnings of the postelection rally in telecom are easy to understand," analyst Craig Moffett writes. "Consolidation, lower corporate taxes, and less regulation all arguably portend higher multiples in 2017."
- "As pragmatists, however, we can't help but worry that the postelection rally has been suspiciously devoid of any real analysis of numbers. And, more concerning, it has been devoid of any serious inquiry into valuation."
- Handset subsidies are making an uwelcome return to the industry, Moffett says, and T-Mobile opening other pricing battle (with All-In pricing) leaves him "incrementally more cautious about ARPU (average revenue per user) forecasts for all operators, not least T-Mobile itself."
- Moffett lowered his price target for T-Mobile to $61 from $65, implying about 5% upside.