Things are getting downright spicy at entertainment giant Paramount (PARA). It managed to post a court win, and it got itself prepared to pursue what it no doubt hoped was a much larger win down the line. This confluence of events, meanwhile, left investors nonplussed, and they sent shares down fractionally in the closing minutes of Tuesday’s trading session.
One of the multiple court cases currently outstanding against Paramount is between it and the Rhode Island pension system. The system in question previously won a ruling against Paramount, back in January, that required Paramount to hand over records relating to the Skydance deal to the pension fund. The judge in that case, J. Travis Laster, recently defended his decision, citing “…about four dozen news articles…” that the fund in turn cited to make a demand for these records.
But Paramount got a little help, and reports note that the Delaware Supreme Court will be likely weighing in on the matter next. All of this comes at a time when Delaware is looking to revamp its various corporate laws that have made it an attractive prospect for companies to file their incorporation articles there.
Taking on Trump
This is of course a big court case, but there are actually bigger afoot. Indeed, CBS—part of Paramount—urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to toss out a complaint over its 60 Minutes program. President Trump accused the program of “news distortion,” suggesting that after-the-fact editing was employed to make Harris look better. This charge, CBS denies.
CBS claimed that the practice of editing an interview was “commonplace,” and is often done in consideration of a “…time-limited television format.” The FCC, via Chair Brendan Carr, was less than convinced, and noted “We’re not close in my view to the position of dismissing that complaint at this point.” With the Paramount deal already facing a shutdown over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, even the Trump case being dismissed may not save the merger.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on PARA stock based on two Buys, six Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 3.81% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PARA price target of $12.50 per share implies 7.71% upside potential.
