Satellite Radio Playground

by Demian Russian

BGB Securities media analyst Murray Arenson will be discussing his thoughts on Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) in an exclusive, live interview on Playground Radio — tonight, Wednesday, September 8th, 2010, at 8:00PM Eastern. Mr. Arenson currently has a BUY rating and a $1.35 price target on shares of SIRI.

Murray Arenson, BGB Securities Media Analyst

Murray Arenson has covered the Media and Media Technology Industries for more than twelve years and worked for Nielsen Media Research, the media industry’s leading research company, prior to joining the financial ranks.

Mr. Arenson is a two-time Wall Street Journal All-Star Analyst, including a ranking as the Number One analyst in the Cable and Entertainment industry and a position on the Wall Street Journal’s Home-Run Hitters Team (ranking No. 4 among analysts in all industries with highest portfolio returns).

Mr. Arenson has been widely quoted in trade, financial, and general media, including CNBC, Investor’s Business Daily, New York NewsDay, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, Cable World and MultiChannel News. Mr. Arenson was previously an analyst with Ferris, Baker Watts, Inc. Prior to that, he was the President of Mosaic Equity L.L.C., an independent research firm serving institutional investors. He has also been an analyst with Morgan Keegan & Company, Hoak Breedlove Wesneski & Co., and Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, Inc. Mr. Arenson received an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. from Washington University.

Arenson, who previously covered Sirius XM while at Janco Partners, initiated coverage of Sirius XM for BGB Securities last March with a BUY rating and a $1.15 price target. Arenson then raised his price target to $1.35 on May 5th following Sirius XM’s first quarter results. Arenson reiterated his BUY rating and $1.35 price target on August 5th following Sirius XM’s second quarter results.

In his reiteration report responding to the company’s Q2 results, Arenson said that “cash is flowing” and “guidance remains cautious.” Arenson saw Sirius XM executing well, with the second quarter results showing the same strength as the company’s pre-announced subscriber metrics on July 7th. “Management is cautious with respect to guidance, as uncertainty regarding auto sales continues,” Arenson said. While noting that “prudence may be warranted,” Arenson believes Sirius XM’s outlook and financial health continues to improve.

Discussing CEO Mel Karmazin’s comments during the conference call regarding the planned launch of “Satellite Radio 2.0″ in the fall of 2011, Arenson said that the new radios, featuring expanded channel choices and added functionality, would not add a “significant increase” to company costs. In response to Mel Karmazin’s comments indicating that an announcement regarding Howard Stern’s contract is expected to occur before the third quarter conference call, Arenson said, “We suspect that the parties will come to terms, and we believe the elimination of that uncertainty would be a good thing.”

Tonight’s Playground Radio program will be hosted by Demian Russian, with Dennis “Cos” Costa and Brian “Newman” Rayl. After tonight’s interview with Mr. Arenson, a discussion about the latest happenings in the world of Satellite Radio will follow. Listeners are welcome to call in and join the live discussion at (347) 934-0239. Playground Radio can be heard live Wednesdays at 8:00PM Eastern.

Previous episodes of Playground Radio are available for streaming or download, as an Mp3 file or via iTunes. Further information about Playground Radio can be found at the Playground Radio Home Page. Tonight’s episode of Playground Radio can be heard live via the following link:

Position: Long SIRI

Contact the Author: demianrussian@satelliteradioplayground.com