TLDR
- American Tower (AMT) rose about 3% in pre-open trading after Bloomberg reported SpaceX wants access to about 80,000 U.S. cell sites.
- The stock opened at $181.62, up 2%, while Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile each fell more than 3%.
- Q3 results are due Oct. 27, with Wall Street expecting EPS of $2.84 and revenue of about $2.77 billion.
- Analysts rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $214.90.
- Insiders have sold $1.2 million of stock over 90 days, though two directors have made recent purchases.
American Tower (AMT) stock jumped 3% in pre-open trading on Friday. The move followed a Bloomberg report that SpaceX is in talks to use about 80,000 U.S. cell sites.
American Tower Corporation, AMT
The stock opened at $181.62, up 2% on the day. Its 52-week range runs from $160.06 to $196.08.
SpaceX is looking at a nationwide wireless network buildout. A tenant of that size could lead to multibillion-dollar leasing deals for tower companies.
Crown Castle rose 0.2% alongside American Tower. Towers suddenly look like prime real estate again.
Telecom carriers went the other way. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile each fell more than 3% as investors weighed SpaceX as a new wireless rival.
Market Backdrop and Valuation
The broader market offered little help. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow fell 0.6%.
American Tower trades above its 50-day average of $174.42 and its 200-day average of $175.63. Its market cap stands at $84.63 billion.
The stock trades at about 25 times earnings. One recent analysis said the valuation discount that once set it apart has mostly faded.
Analysts remain upbeat. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $214.90.
Mizuho recently raised its target to $208 with an Outperform rating. Bernstein trimmed its target from $214 to $212 and kept its Outperform rating.
Insider Moves and Earnings Setup
Director Teresa Clarke made another small open-market purchase on Oct. 20 at $183.20 apiece. Director Rajesh Kalathur spent $500,733 on stock at $177 apiece in August.
EVP Ruth Dowling sold about $193,506 of stock in July under a pre-arranged plan. Insiders have sold $1.2 million of stock over the last 90 days and own 0.08% of the company.
Institutions own 92.69% of AMT. MBL Wealth raised its position by 415.1% in the third quarter, to a holding worth about $1.34 million.
Last quarter, American Tower reported revenue of $2.75 billion, up 4.6%, and EPS of $2.71. Management set 2026 EPS guidance at $11.00 to $11.17.
The company paid its $1.79 quarterly dividend on Oct. 20, a 3.9% yield. Q3 results are due Oct. 27, with Wall Street expecting EPS of $2.84 and revenue of about $2.77 billion.
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