Benzinga | Jan 3, 2022 07:50AM EST

Read Why Wolfe Research Downgraded Charter, Altice USA

Wolfe Research analyst John Janedis downgraded Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) and Altice USA Inc (NYSE:ATUS).

* Janedis downgraded Charter to Underperform from Peer Perform with a price target of $621, down from $712, implying a 4.8% downside.

* Janedis downgraded Altice to Peer Perform from Outperform with a price target of $17, down from $26, implying a 5.1% upside.

* Janedis sees cable operators continue to witness slower growth in their core broadband business over the near and long term.

* While cable has established a firm foothold within the ecosystem, he believes fiber overbuilders and 5G fixed wireless entrants have the "most to gain on the margin."

* Janedis prefers scaled aggregators that can provide the highest quality, lowest price converged mobile and broadband offerings as competition intensifies.

* Janedis sees only 9 million cable net adds through the calendar year 2030, compared to the consensus forecast for 8.2 million net adds in the next four years.

* Price Action: CHTR shares closed lower by 0.8% at $651.97, while ATUS closed lower by 2.59% at $16.18 on Friday.