Mediacom Communications rises after 1Q results, upgrade

Shares of Mediacom Communications Corp. rose on Wednesday, as the cable-television company said its first-quarter loss widened but an analyst upgraded the stock on improving fundamentals.

Quarterly loss widened to $30.6 million, or 31 cents per share, from $16.9 million, or 15 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, predicted a loss of 7 cents per share.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $339.7 million from $307.9 million. Analysts predicted revenue of $332.8 million.

Operating costs rose 7 percent to $213.9 million.

The company raised its 2008 revenue guidance, predicting growth between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent. Previously, the company forecast revenue growth of 6 percent to 7 percent.

The new outlook implies revenue of $1.37 billion to $1.39 billion. in 2008. Analysts predict revenue of $1.38 billion.

Soleil Securities Group upgraded the Middletown, N.Y.-based company to "Buy" from "Hold," due to a combination of a cheap share price and improving fundamentals.

Shares rose $1.01, or 22.2 percent, to $5.57 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $3.75 and $10.40 over the past year.