Analyst: Discovery Communications COO Departure No Reason for Alarm

NY - Following news early Wednesday that Discovery Communications COO Peter Liguori could leave his publish after couple of years, Davenport & Co. analyst Michael Morris mentioned "we don't view [the departure] as suggestive of [a] bigger problem." In the note to traders, Morris written: "We're feeling that Mr. Liguori's departure is friendly and reflects his somewhat limited creative role within Discovery due to the hands-on approach of highly-respected Boss David Zaslav together with a powerful network management team." He mentioned the verifying lines from segment leaders, for instance Mark Hollinger, Boss of Discovery Systems Worldwide, and Eileen O'Neill, group leader, Discovery and TLC Systems, to Zaslav "limited the opportunity that Mr. Liguori is seeking." Because context, it didn't come just like a surprise the organization aren't devoted to refill the COO role, "reflecting confidence inside the operating outcomes of Boss and division leadership," Morris mentioned. Combined with this particular summer season's announcement that CFO Kaira Singer could leave Discovery Communications in March, Morris mentioned that some traders could see the Liguori exit as reason to become concerned. "However, we percieve both Mr. Singer and Mr. Liguori too-respected and relatively youthful leaders on television industry who'll most likely seek responsibility increases as time passes,Inch he contended. "Thinking about the truth that Mr. Zaslav may also be relatively youthful (early 50s), we expect him to remain in the Boss role with an extended period of time.In . Meanwhile, S&P Capital IQ analyst Tuna Amobi mentioned that Discovery Communications "appears in steady hands under Boss David Zaslav," nevertheless the Singer and Liguori exits "could kindle some emergency to talk about management stability." Among a bigger stock market decline, Discovery Communications shares were lower 3.9 % to $43.30 by 10:15am ET. Within the this past year, the stock has exchanged between $34.75 this August and $45.81 in May. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Discovery Communications