AT&T downgraded to Equal Weight on rising 5G risks at Morgan Stanley

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As previously reported, Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery downgraded AT&T (T) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $34, down from $36.

He expects a "robust" 5G smartphone upgrade cycle in 2021 to create risks for AT&T given that as consumers look to buy new 5G iPhones from Apple (AAPL) he would expect the switcher pool to increase, Flannery added. While AT&T does have nationwide coverage with low band 5G, it will not be able to match the speeds of T-Mobile's (TMUS) mid-band network for "a number of years," Flannery said.

He is also increasingly concerned that the C-Band spectrum auction will be more expensive than expected, which creates a strategic and financial risk for AT&T.