Broker snap: Media stocks lifted by Goldman note

27th May 2009 09:59

The downturn in the advertising market has made life hard for media companies but the sector received a boost today from Goldman Sachs, which has upgraded some of the major players.Broadcaster ITV is upgraded from 'sell' to 'buy' and added to the US bank's 'conviction buy' list. Goldman Sachs anticipates that forward advertising data will start to sow signs of levelling off over the second and third quarters.Newspaper group Johnston Press sees its rating lifted from 'sell' to 'neutral' on expectations of consolidation within the sector.'Following more positive macro data, we increase our 2010 forecasts by 23% on average,' the bank said in a research note on the European media sector. The bank has maintained its 'buy' recommendations for Reed Elsevier and Aegis.