Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger said that it appears that the market is starting to believe Comcast (CMCSA) will give up on its bid to buy assets from 21st Century Fox (FOXA) and focus on Sky (SKYAY), but he said he is "not so sure" that is the case after only one counter from Disney (DIS). He does not believe Comcast would put forth a $35 bid unless it was prepared to bid up to near $45 per share, Juenger tells investors. If Comcast ups its bid, it either wins Fox at a high price or Disney is forced to pay more, which both seem better than giving up to him, Juenger stated. In any case, the "winner" will be left with increased leverage on a cyclical business late in the cycle at a time when it needs to invest significantly to build its direct-to-consumer business, added Juenger.

Pivotal Research analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak lowered the firm's price target on Comcast (CMCSA) to $48 from $55 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Comcast reported an-line Q1 results but the competitive environment appears to be intensifying, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes there is an "outside shot" that Comcast could make a play for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) "given it can probably get the asset relatively inexpensively and it would clearly boost their scale in content," says Pivotal.

Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.  UP AFTER EARNINGS... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.

Comcast (CMCSA) is scheduled to announce quarterly results on April 25, while Paramount (PARA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here