CBS Stock Climbs, Developing New 'Star Trek' TV Series

CBS stock is advancing in late afternoon trading on Monday, as it prepares to launch a new 'Star Trek' TV series in early 2017.
By Rachel Graf ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CBS (CBS) - Get Report stock is up by 2.75% to $47.80 in late afternoon trading on Monday, after announcing it will premiere a new "Star Trek" TV series in January of 2017.

The show will broadcast a special preview on CBS's television network, but will thereafter run exclusively on CBS All Access, the network's $5.99 per month streaming service.

Alex Kurtzman, who co-wrote and produced the 2009 "Star Trek" and 2013 "Star Trek into Darkness" films, will be the executive producer of the show. 

Viewers have been leaving major networks such as CBS, Walt Disney's (DIS) ABC and Viacom's (VIAB) Nickelodeon and MTV in favor of online streaming services such as Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN), Bloomberg reports.

Beyond promoting CBS All Access, the new show might bring in enough revenue from abroad to outweigh a potentially small online-only audience in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Additionally, CBS will report 2015 third quarter earnings results after the market close on Tuesday. Analysts have forecast for earnings of 81 cents per share on revenue of $3.27 billion. Last year, CBS reported earnings of 74 cents per share on revenue of $3.37 billion in the 2014 third quarter.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates CBS CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

We rate CBS CORP (CBS) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity and reasonable valuation levels. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, unimpressive growth in net income and feeble growth in the company's earnings per share.

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

  • Despite its growing revenue, the company underperformed as compared with the industry average of 5.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 1.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
  • The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Media industry and the overall market, CBS CORP's return on equity exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
  • 40.76% is the gross profit margin for CBS CORP which we consider to be strong. Regardless of CBS's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 10.31% trails the industry average.
  • The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Media industry average. The net income has decreased by 24.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, dropping from $439.00 million to $332.00 million.
  • Reflecting the weaknesses we have cited, including the decline in the company's earnings per share, CBS has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 13.77% from its price level of one year ago. Looking ahead, we do not see anything in this company's numbers that would change the one-year trend. It was down over the last twelve months; and it could be down again in the next twelve. Naturally, a bull or bear market could sway the movement of this stock.
  • You can view the full analysis from the report here: CBS
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