Broadcasting Stocks

Don't look now, but CBS shares are right back to where they were in late January. Has the current quiet in the ongoing squabble between the company led by Les Moonves and its controlling shareholder, the Redstone family's National Amusements Inc., warmed investors' hearts?

On a Tuesday marked by tepid trading among media issues and general indices in sell mode ahead of the Independence Day holiday, one media company stood out in a highly positive way. Urban One shares soared in midday trading, and at the Closing Bell were at their highest point in nearly two years.

Monday saw declines on Wall Street for a big radio-industry pure play and a company that is now tangled up in a bitter dispute involving one of the biggest Hispanic media companies in the U.S., and a DBS provider who is crying foul over a new retransmission fee agreement.

With the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition winding its way through a Texas federal bankruptcy court and its unsecured creditors getting more time today, iHeartMedia saw its stock dip to its lowest level ever on Wall Street. Forget that one-year target estimate of $10. Can you spare a quarter?

General indices improved on Wednesday, but several key media companies -- including Entercom and Nexstar Media Group -- saw dips in their stock prices. Here's the recap from Wall Street.

U.S. financial markets dipped again, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average diving 165.62 points to 24,117.59. The Nasdaq composite index declined by 116.54, to 7,445.08. While Saga Communications gained 27 cents to $38.25, and Urban One rose 5 cents to $2.25, the majority of media issues were down.

Veritone, known by radio and TV industry C-Suiters as a provider cloud-based AI analytics and cognitive solutions, has closed its underwritten public offering. The stock offering, clearly designed to give Veritone more cash with which to operate, was met with a largely negative reaction from its stockholders.

With Tuesday's Closing Bell on the NasdaqGS exchange, The E.W. Scripps Co. enjoyed a 2% gain. It's another slow and steady improvement from May 3, when SSP shares hit a recent low. And, it comes as Scripps begins to restructure itself as a media company free of any radio stations in its holdings.

Broadcast media stocks were largely swept up in a red tide on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.3%, and Nasdaq was down 2%. That's not to say there weren't improvements: Townsquare Media climbed 7.4%, and there's a clear reason why this gain was seen.

U.S. financial markets were divergent on Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average improved 119.19 points, to 24,580.89. However, Nasdaq was down 20.14, to 7692.82. The mixed activity carried over to media issues.

Artificial Intelligence-powered media attribution and analytics company Veritone Inc. has certainly seen roller-coaster like activity for its stock since an IPO in mid-May 2017. Now, the up and down activity for VERI shares has gone into a canyon again.

There was a lot of mixed action for broadcast media stocks on Wednesday. Companies including CBS Corp., Emmis Communications and Nexstar Media Group are hot. Companies such as iHeartMedia and Salem Media Group are not. Here's the lowdown on just how high, and low, these media stocks could go.

It's been an incredible June for a broadcast TV station company with its roots in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre market. Nexstar Media Group's shares have soared by more than $10 a share since June 5. If the growth continues, a new all-time high could be seen in a matter of days.

Here's a bit of news that's a long time coming: shares for the nation's second-largest radio broadcasting company by number of stations improved 3.5% in Monday's trading — to $15. Volume was scant, however, at just 132 shares traded. What other ups and downs were seen on Wall Street? iHeart is down on more bankruptcy-related news.

The continued strong performance of Emmis Communications makes it one of the strongest performers among publicly traded media companies for the first half of 2018. Credit company head Jeff Smulyan for trimming the company's holdings following an unsuccessful privatization effort launched in August 2016.