Skydance (NYSE:SKYD) Stock Price Down 8% – Should You Sell?

Skydance Corporation (NYSE:SKYD) shares were down 8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $8.75 and last traded at $8.77. 6,292,837 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 12,659,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Skydance

Here are the key news stories impacting Skydance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scale and streaming opportunities: The merger gives Skydance control of major film, television and streaming assets, including Warner Bros., Paramount+, HBO Max, major franchises and sports content. Management plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming service, potentially improving scale and reducing duplicated costs. Skydance will combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming service
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership and operating appointments: Skydance added Laurene Powell Jobs and Bobby Kotick to its board, appointed Josh Goldstine to oversee marketing and distribution across its film labels, and named Tony Driscoll president of games and experiences. The moves signal an effort to strengthen management and expand revenue beyond traditional film and television. Bobby Kotick and Laurene Powell Jobs Join Skydance Board
• Positive Sentiment: Early market rebound: Coverage of the opening-bell ceremony and the company’s debut under the Skydance name helped support a rebound after initial trading weakness, suggesting some investor interest in David Ellison’s strategy and the newly created media giant. Skydance shares rebound after David Ellison and company ring opening bell
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio restructuring: Turner Classic Movies will remain under Skydance but move into the film group rather than the television division. This could improve coordination with film assets, although the financial benefit is not yet clear. TCM Sticking Around Under Skydance
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy leverage is the main concern: The combined company reportedly carries roughly $80 billion of debt, increasing interest costs and leaving management dependent on cost synergies, asset performance and successful integration. Analysts and coverage have therefore characterized Skydance as a debt-reduction story as much as a growth story. Skydance Just Became a Media Giant With an $80 Billion Debt Load
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and trading risks: The stock struggled during its first days of trading, while the CBS–NFL agreement reportedly had not been renegotiated. Investors are also evaluating the complexity of integrating two major media businesses and whether promised savings can offset declining traditional-TV economics. Skydance Stock Struggles in First Days of Trading

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Skydance from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays set a $7.00 target price on shares of Skydance and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Skydance in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Skydance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Skydance from $6.50 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and nine have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.78.

Skydance Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.41 and its 200 day moving average is $5.16.

Skydance (NYSE:SKYD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The media and entertainment company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Skydance had a negative net margin of 2.13% and a positive return on equity of 4.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Skydance Corporation will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Skydance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.0250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a decrease from Skydance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Skydance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Skydance

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Skydance by 18.0% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 6,560 shares of the media and entertainment company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in Skydance by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,499 shares of the media and entertainment company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Skydance by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 89,455 shares of the media and entertainment company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Skydance by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,612 shares of the media and entertainment company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Skydance by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the media and entertainment company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Skydance

Skydance Corporation is a global media and entertainment company formerly known as Paramount Skydance Corporation.