“Nothing Burger”: Paramount Stock (NASDAQ:PARA) Gains as Legal Experts Dismantle Anti-Bribery Notion

Recently, we noted that elements of the Senate—including Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, who recently took aim at Boeing (BA) over the potential shutdown of its fatal crash cases—went after entertainment giant Paramount (PARA) over the possibility that a settlement with President Trump in the court case against him could possibly run afoul of anti-bribery laws. Legal experts took that notion apart earlier today, and Paramount shares recovered, up modestly in the closing minutes of Thursday’s trading.

Federal defense attorney Ronald Chapman II led off his assessment of the recent Senatorial letter with a blunt statement: “The allegations are baseless.” That by itself might tell you all you need to know, but Chapman was not out of blunt statements, and let them all fly in a giddy, dizzying display. Chapman pointed out that the anti-bribery statutes in question noted that it was, in fact, illegal to “corruptly” give anything of value to public officials to influence an act.

That “corruptly” became the vital link, as Chapman noted “A judge-approved settlement is the opposite of ‘corruption.’” Chapman then referred to the case as a “nothing burger,” and the Senators involved in writing the letter as engaging in “…hyperbolic outrage…” and “…irresponsible…activism….” Chapman’s assertions were backed up by William A. Jacobson, professor at Cornell Law, who noted that the claim may have made for “…good politics, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect good law.”

Highway to the Vegas Zone

In a surprising turn, Paramount—working with Advent Allen Entertainment—will be bringing a Top Gun-themed attraction to a parcel of undeveloped land by the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower. The attraction is set to open in summer 2028, which is quite a bit after the latest film. But it will offer fighter jet simulations, and a bar with piano singalongs.

The interesting part is that this is almost 20 years to the day after Paramount shuttered “Star Trek: The Experience” in Las Vegas. Said experience ran from 1998 to 2008, and offered not only two rides—”The Klingon Experience” and “The Borg Invasion 4-D”—but also a complete simulation of Quark’s from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. One wonders what will be different about the Top Gun experience, or if this too is another potentially short-lived theme experience to be.

Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, seven Holds and six Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 0.84% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $11.92 per share implies 0.63% upside potential.

See more PARA analyst ratings

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