Comcast Shares Jump Ahead of Earnings Tomorrow A.M.

Comcast (CMCSA) shares are up sharply today ahead of the company’s announcement of third quarter results before the opening bell tomorrow.

The Street is looking for revenue of $8.59 billion and profits of 22 cents a share.

Credit Suisse analyst Spencer Wang today picked up coverage of the cable and satellite sector, launching Comcast with an Outperform rating; he says that cable has a competitive advantage over the satellite companies over the medium term. “Approximately 70 percent of consumers indicate a preference for bundling, and cable is currently the only platform with the ability to offer the triple-play bundle on a side-scale basis,” he writes.

In a note this morning previewing tomorrow’s numbers, Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett said he continues to view cable stocks as “far and away, the best defensives in our broader telecom, cable and satellite universe.” He says they not only offer strong defensive characteristics–”video and broadband are no more discretionary for most families than running water”–but also solid growth prospects even as we head into a recession.

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