Brokerage firms are almost always eternal optimists when it comes to stocks. Even if they don’t like a stock, they’ll trot out a euphemism like “sector underperform” or “underweight” when they recommend dumping the stock but can’t really say that due to corporate politics.
So you know this is serious:
Merrill Lynch on Thursday downgraded its rating of Interpublic Group’s stock from “neutral” to “sell” with a high risk of volatility, citing the holding company’s recent Bank of America loss and questions about the impact of the departure of General Motors’ media duties in May.
What would the advertising landscape without Interpublic look like? Say, if they sell off divisions or dissolve the holding company altogether?
