SocGen downgrades ITV on Brexit uncertainty

Analysts at Societe Generale downgraded their recommendation for shares of ITV at the end of the week, from 'buy' to 'hold', setting a 138.0p target price in the process.

In a research note covering the Global Media & Internet sector, the French broker argued that pricing power for consumer facing companies remained "strong" when low price points were involved and when applied to a differentiated product proposition, such as Netflix.

As penetration rates leveled-off, there was also scope for a growing overlap between advertising and e-commerce, SocGen said, pointing to a $2.0trn-plus opportunity.

That, it highlighted, was four times greater than the total global advertising spend and, it added, penetration levels were still low in many categories.

Nevertheless, in the case of ITV it chose to emphasise the renewed uncertainty that existed "driven by a protracted Brexit".