Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar upgraded AT&T Inc. from Equal-Weight to Overweight and a $30 price target. The price target implies an upside of 26.2 percent.
Venkateshwar cited valuation and Warner deal benefits behind the re-rating.
Wireless is AT&T’s most prominent business, contributing about 40 percent of revenue.
AT&T is the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, connecting 66 million postpaid and 17 million prepaid phone customers.
WarnerMedia contributes ~20 percent of revenue with media assets that include HBO, the Turner cable networks, and the Warner Brothers studios.
AT&T aims to spin Warner off and merge it with Discovery Inc. to create a new stand-alone media firm. The company recently stated regulatory review process is proceeding as expected regarding the pending WarnerMedia-Discovery transaction.
