Sirius XM price target lowered to $43 from $65 at Benchmark

Benchmark analyst Matthew Harrigan lowered the firm’s price target on Sirius XM to $43 from $65 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The change in target reflects a more conservative valuation, rather than any perceived incremental performance deterioration, says the analyst. However, the firm says it still feels “satisfactory execution on a bevy of growth initiations could make the prior target tenable over the next 18 months,” adding that it views the stock price free fall since the September 9 Liberty deal close as “unwarranted” and maintains “high conviction that SiriusXM has a durable U.S. audio leadership position.”