Comcast (CMCSA) shares fell more than 2% to $21.64 in premarket trading Friday, putting the stock on track for its lowest close since October 11, 2013. The decline brought it closer to its 52-week low of $21.28.

The move followed KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel's downgrade of Comcast from Sector Weight to Underweight, the equivalent of a Sell rating. Nispel also lowered his price target to $18, citing broadband customer losses that have accelerated beyond expectations, slowing theme park attendance and uncertainty surrounding the company's planned NBCUniversal separation.

Broadband Losses and Competitive Pressure

Broadband and mobile competitors have been offering plans priced as low as $30 to $40 a month. Nispel projects that Comcast will lose 558,000 broadband customers in 2026 and another 665,000 in 2027.

Comcast has described competitors' pricing as irrational but has declined to match those offers. Nispel argued that this position could leave the company losing customers regardless of whether it maintains its current pricing strategy.

Citi analyst Michael Rollins also reduced his price target for Comcast, moving it to $27.50 from $30, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock.

Theme parks have added to the pressure. Attendance has slowed sharply since June, despite the opening of the new Epic Universe park in Orlando. Wall Street had projected a 9% rebound in theme park growth in 2027, but Nispel expects growth to remain flat instead.

NBCUniversal Separation and Buybacks

Comcast plans to separate from NBCUniversal by mid-2027. Nispel is skeptical that the transaction will provide a significant near-term lift to the stock. He also warned that the separation could remove a source of support for the share price because Comcast has suspended buybacks since July 1, 2026, while the transaction is finalized.

Nispel nevertheless sees a possible path in which the separation is followed by a merger with Charter Communications. A combined Comcast and Charter would reach more than 130 million homes. Charter shares rose 0.4% in premarket trading Friday, moving in the opposite direction from Comcast.

Comcast's chief financial officer had previously warned that broadband losses would not improve this quarter compared with the same period last year. That warning has contributed to repeated sell-offs in the stock through September.

Friday's decline was not mirrored by the broader market. At the time, the S&P 500 was up 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5%, indicating that the pressure on Comcast was company-specific rather than market-wide.

The average analyst rating on Comcast remains Hold, based on 29 analysts tracked by FactSet. The company is also approaching its third-quarter earnings report, with Wall Street projecting lower earnings per share and lower revenue than in the same period last year. The results will provide an updated picture of broadband subscriber trends and theme park attendance, the two areas at the center of Nispel's downgrade.

The combination of two reduced price targets, KeyBanc's downgrade, ongoing broadband losses and the paused buyback program has increased pressure on the stock. The report was published by CoinCentral.