Here is a little something unexpected to close out your week. Remember the “special committee” that entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) had to oversee the deal-making process that ultimately led to the Paramount and Skydance merger? Well, its leader left the company’s board of directors today, and investors were apparently happy to see him go. Shares were up modestly in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading.
Charles Phillips Jr. was the leader of that M&A committee, and has been on the board of directors basically since 2004, when he was part of the Viacom board of directors before Paramount acquired Viacom. And, interestingly enough, Phillips was the former president of Oracle (ORCL), which was founded by David Ellison, noted a Variety report. As in the same Ellison whose son currently runs Skydance.
Phillips is departing Paramount, reports note, in a bid to spend more time with his private-equity investment management operation, Recognize, that he co-founded. He also serves as managing partner therein. Phillips filed his formal resignation on Monday, and it takes place on Halloween, October 31.
Meanwhile, In Content…
The good news, however, is that Paramount’s content services are not seeing much of a slowdown despite the recent massive layoffs. Those concerned about the fate of the Reacher series—particularly since Paramount’s television studio shut down—will be happy to note that Reacher season four is set to arrive in 2025.
And, good news for Star Trek fans; it turns out the loss of several Star Trek titles was only temporary after all, though it may well happen again. Word from Trek Movie is that the original slate of movies have returned to Paramount+. Why they left to begin with was unclear, and why they returned so quickly, even less so. But for Trek fans, it is a good day.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on three Buys, six Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.02% loss in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.67 per share implies 21.53% upside potential.
