Moonves Allegations Makes CBS Stock Too Risky

CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS ) stock steadied on Tuesday after declining more than 10 percent in the past two days following sexual misconduct allegations against CEO Les Moonves. Moonves is keeping his position as CEO while the company investigates the allegations, but analysts say the situation adds too much uncertainty to CBS stock for investors to buy the dip.

The CBS woes started Friday when a New Yorker article included accusations from six women dating back to the 1980s that Moonves acted inappropriately in the workplace. Moonves has admitted that he may have made inappropriate advances at times.

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“Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely,” he said in a statement to the New Yorker. “But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that 'no' means 'no,' and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career.”

On Monday, the CBS board said it will hire outside counsel to investigate Moonves, and it postponed its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for Aug. 10. CBS is also scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on Thursday afternoon.

The Moonves situation has created uncertainty surrounding leadership at CBS, which has spooked the market. Moonves has been with CBS since 1995 when he joined as president of CBS Entertainment.

On Tuesday, Cowen analyst Doug Creutz downgraded CBS stock from “outperform” to “market perform” and said there are too many potential negative catalysts hanging over CBS to buy the stock on the dip. Creutz says investors shouldn’t take the downgrade as a comment on the credibility of the claims against Moonves.

“Rather, it is a reflection of the fact that the added overhang of an investigation of uncertain length with an uncertain outcome will make share outperformance difficult, even given the recent sell-off,” he says.

In addition to the CEO uncertainty, CBS is currently suing majority shareholder Shari Redstone, who is pushing to merge CBS and Viacom ( VIA , VIAB ). Redstone is president of National Amusements, which owns 80 percent voting rights in both CBS and Viacom.

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“While we continue to like the company's assets and strategic positioning, between the legal/control fight with NAI, the potential for a recombination with Viacom, and the allegations of sexual harassment at the company, there are too many unquantifiable variables” Creutz says.

In addition to the downgrade, Cowen has lowered its price target for CBS stock from $69 to $50.

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