Analysts say ITV's value could rise by £2 billion after the BBC sacked 'Top Gear' host Jeremy Clarkson
However, analysts at the brokerage firm Liberium effectively told traders that the BBC's loss is ITV's gain. In its latest analyst note, it forecast ITV's value to rise by £2 billion ($2.98 billion) after placing a target price for the stock at 310.00p.
ITV's stock is currently trading at 257.60p, so that would be a climb of about 20%, and significantly raise ITV's current £10.4 billion market capitalisation.
In the note, entitled "Jeremy Clarkson to ITV?" sent to Business Insider, analysts touted the TV presenter as a potential boon for advertisers as Clarkson helped reel in a global audience of 350 million during his 12 year stint on the popular BBC motoring show - as originally spotted over at Guido Fawkes.
The note said:
Two ways [his arrival at ITV] would help if he can develop a Top Gear-style programme on ITV:
(1) audience share with such a popular programme;
(2) advertising - given the Top Gear demographic, it is likely to be relatively attractive to advertisers and
(3) Worldwide sales - press reports suggested Top Gear earns £50 million per annum for the BBC globally: while it is unclear on what would happen with the Top Gear brand, a Clarkson-fronted motor show is likely to replicate this success
However, the traders may be waiting for more concrete evidence over Clarkson's next move because ITV shares are barely moving. In fact, they're down by nearly 1% today.
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