GOOGL - Citi drops Alphabet from Recommended List adding ViacomCBS in place

Citi has pulled Alphabet ([[GOOG]] -1.9%, [[GOOGL]] -1.6%) from its Recommended List, where its spot is being taken up by ViacomCBS ([[VIAC]] -2.6%, [[VIACA]] -1.7%). All the stocks are lower in a marketwide downdraft today, however. The list change follows Citi's downgrade of Alphabet yesterday, part of a move away from recommending "any large-cap, ad-centric Internet stock." There's limited upside for Alphabet and a "risk broader Internet advertising spend may be entering a period of deceleration," Citi says. Meanwhile it had gotten bullish on ViacomCBS last month, after that stock's meltdown in the Archegos Capital collapse. The new valuation is "not demanding" and ViacomCBS has the capital to accelerate its shift toward streaming, Citi says.

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Citi drops Alphabet from Recommended List, adding ViacomCBS in place