What Happened?
Shares of multinational media and entertainment corporation Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA) jumped 7.4% in the afternoon session after a report that a former top antitrust official was in advanced talks to join the company.
The New York Post reported that Makan Delrahim, who served during the first Trump Administration, was close to joining Paramount Skydance. Delrahim was a key advisor during the recent merger between Paramount and Skydance. This news arrived as media reports suggested the company was weighing a potential bid for entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery. The potential hiring of a former antitrust official was seen as a move to help navigate the regulatory challenges of such a large-scale deal, which some in the industry described as "inevitable" due to the need for more scale.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Paramount’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 13 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock gained 4.1% on the news that the company bolstered its leadership team with key tech executives, signaling a strategic push into artificial intelligence (AI) and building investor confidence after its recent merger.
Paramount Skydance named ScaleAI's finance chief, Dennis Cinelli, to its board and appointed former Meta Vice President Dane Glasgow as its new Chief Product Officer. These moves highlighted CEO David Ellison's focus on harnessing AI to future-proof the entertainment giant. Investor optimism was also fueled by other positive developments, including the renewal of the hit show 'Tulsa King' on Paramount+.
The stock's significant jump also reflected general excitement surrounding the recent merger, with some analysts pointing to the potential for a short squeeze due to low public share ownership. A new UFC media rights deal was also viewed as a factor that could enhance future revenue and growth.
Paramount is up 90.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $20.14 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Paramount’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $698.65.
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