Paramount Global stock closed 15% up on Tuesday: explore why

Warren Buffett took a substantial stake in Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) in the first quarter of 2022, a regulatory filing revealed on Tuesday; sending shares of the mass media company up 15%.

Buffett invested $2.60 billion in Paramount Global

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought 68.9 million shares of the entertainment conglomerate for $2.60 billion. Commenting on the news, Bryn Mawr Trust’s Jeff Mills said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch”:

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I think it’s interesting and it speaks to Buffett’s style, generally. At 13 times forward earnings, I think the downside is somewhat limited in the Paramount Global stock. So, potentially, he’s looking at valuation.

The New York-based company that rebranded from ViacomCBS in February, is now the 18^th largest holding of Berkshire Hathaway. The stock is still down more than 15% from its year-to-date high in late March.

Paramount Global could capitalize on streaming

Earlier this month, the American multinational said its flagship streaming service, Paramount+, grew its subscriber base by 6.8 million in the first quarter. Speaking with CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen, Mills noted:

The fundamentals are good here. Huge growth in the DTC business. The content story is very good for a company like Paramount. I think there’s still growth in streaming, and Paramount will be able to capitalise on that.

Paramount’s direct-to-consumer revenue was up 82% in the recent fiscal quarter. According to Mills, the stock is also attractive from the technical standpoint as the $28 level seems to serve as a fairly strong support.