AT&T Inc. shares lost ground during the week ended Sept. 20 as the company faced mounting pressure to part ways with its DIRECTV subsidiary, which has struggled with heavy subscriber losses. Snap Inc. stock, meanwhile, soared after a Wall Street analyst upgraded the shares on the idea that the company's growth prospects seem to be improving.
Sources recently told The Wall Street Journal that AT&T is exploring various options for its satellite TV unit, including a spinoff or a combination of DIRECTV with rival satellite operator DISH Network Corp. The Journal report noted that discussions were preliminary and AT&T may ultimately decide to keep DIRECTV.
In a recent letter, activist shareholder Elliott Management Corp. urged AT&T to consider several strategic alternatives to improve its business, including the sale of DIRECTV. AT&T responded by saying it was already considering many of Elliott's suggestions.
Debt analysts have said a combination of DIRECTV and DISH would likely be the best option for AT&T to divest the business, but a direct sale might be difficult to accomplish, making a spinoff the more likely option.
AT&T shares were trading at $37.50 around midday Sept. 20, down 1.09% from their Sept. 13 close.
![]() |
Turning to social media, shares in Snapchat-parent Snap jumped after Susquehanna tech analyst Shyam Patil upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "negative," citing optimism around the company's user growth and various initiatives.
In a note obtained by MarketWatch, Patil said he sees room for Snap to meet or exceed its user growth forecast of between 205 million to 207 million for the third quarter. He also wrote that the popularity of Instagram LLC's Stories format seems to be making advertisers more willing to market on Snap's own Stories feature, as well. Stories focus more on user-generated photos and videos rather than text.
Around midday Sept. 20, Snap shares were trading up 6% for the week, at $16.96 apiece.
Microsoft Corp. shares also headed upward after the tech giant announced a new $40 billion share repurchase program and upped its dividend by 11%.
The company's board declared a quarterly dividend of 51 cents per share, which represented a 5 cent increase over the previous quarter's dividend. The dividend is payable Dec. 12 to shareholders of record Nov. 21.
The share repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be terminated at any time.
Despite the stronger returns of cash to shareholders, Microsoft's liquidity profile should remain "extremely robust," said Moody's Senior Vice President Richard Lane, the credit rating agency's lead analyst for Microsoft.
"The [new share repurchase] plan is credit neutral because the company has significant cash balances, cash flow generating prospects over the next year, and financial flexibility to execute against this capital return program," Lane wrote in a research note.
Microsoft stock was trading at $140.08 around 12 p.m. ET Sept. 20, up 2.01% for the week.

