BT share price just received another catalyst as Drahi adds stake

BT Group (LON: BT.A) share price has jumped in the past four straight days as investors react to the recent earnings and investment by Patrick Drahi. The shares have risen by over 12.92% from the lowest level this month. In all, the stock has jumped by ~39% above the lowest level in 2022.

BT Group is changing

The biggest telecom news was the decision by BT Group to announce its pivot towards artificial intelligence. When publishing its results, the company said that it plans to lay off over 40% workers in the coming years. In total, these layoffs will be between 40,000 and 50,000 workers by 2030.

In a statement, Philip Jansen, the company’s CEO said that the company will become a leaner firm having saved £2.1 billion in savings. The company said that its free cash flow came in at £1.3 billion in the 12 months to end of March. That was at the lower side of its guidance.

BT Group also said that its revenue dropped by 1% to £20.7 billion. It expects that the company’s revenue will drop to £20.5 billion while its EBITDA will jump by 5%. Therefore, the stock performance is a reflection that investors believe that the cost cuts will lead to higher returns.

The other important BT news is that Patrick Drahi is extremely bullish on the company. According to the Financial Times, Drahi’s Altice has lifted his stake in the company to almost 25% from the previous 18%. The company reiterated that it had no plan to make an offer for the whole group.

Drahi has been accumulating a stake in the company in June 2021 when it bought a 12% stake in the firm. It has been raising its stake ever since. Other large shareholders in the company are T-Mobile Holdings, BNP Paribas, Norges Bank, and Schroder Investment.

BT share price forecast

BT chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that the BT stock price has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few months. It has soared by 36% from the lowest point in December last year. After falling sharply following the report, the stock has pared back some of these losses. 

The shares have moved above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the stock will likely continue rising as buyers target the key resistance level at 161.10p. A drop below the key support at 135.60p will invalidate the bullish view.

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Source: https://invezz.com/news/2023/05/23/bt-share-price-just-received-another-catalyst-as-drahi-adds-stake/