Argus analyst Joseph Bonner cut Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s rating to "hold" from "buy," citing a "remarkably fallow" period for content production, TheFly.com reported May 30.

Bonner noted that Lions Gate unit Starz has become the company's main "profit driver," even though it lost 2.8 million cable subscribers in fiscal year 2019.

According to a recent report, Lions Gate sought $5.5 billion from CBS Corp. for the purchase of the Starz (US) network. Lions Gate made the counteroffer after CBS Corp.'s interim CEO Joe Ianniello made an informal offer of about $5 billion for Starz.

Some media analysts that spoke to S&P Global Market Intelligence recently said CBS would be better off purchasing all of the holdings of Lions Gate instead of just Starz.