Orange downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein

Bernstein downgraded Orange (ORANY) to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of EUR 11, down from EUR 13. As recently flagged by the Dutch regulator, many European telecoms “are sitting on a time bomb: backbook pricing is tangibly higher than the frontbook pricing,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says its analysis reveals that the Dutch case is not an exception but rather the rule across many European markets, particularly in the mobile segment where the two sets of pricing have moved in opposite directions over the past year. Based on its “downbeat view” on the pricing outlook, Bernstein downgraded three stocks. It sees rising price pressures in France and the Netherlands and structural changes to cable company business models.