AT&T shares rebound on Friday, settlement talks with US Department of Justice turn out to be unsuccessful

Settlement talks between AT&T Inc (T) and the US Department of Justice over At&Ts bid to acquire Time Warner Inc were reported to have failed.

AT&T shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past seven trading sessions on Friday. The stock went up 1.32% ($0.50) to $38.24, after touching an intraday high at $38.29, or a price level not seen since October 11th ($38.61).

In the week ended on December 17th the shares of the communication service provider added 4.11% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a sixth consecutive period of gains.

The stock has extended its advance to 5.11% so far during the current month, following an 8.11% surge in November. The latter has been the best monthly performance since December 2016.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed company rose 23.60%. However, the stock has retreated 10.09% so far in 2017.

“All parties have engaged in good-faith settlement negotiations, but despite their efforts, have not been able to settle the matter”, the two sides noted in a court filing on Friday.

The trial, which will decide the matter, is scheduled to be initiated on March 19th and is expected to run 15 days.

The court filing also revealed that final fact witness lists would be exchanged by February 2nd, while all pretrial motions would have to be filed by March 12th.

The US Justice Department has attempted to prevent AT&T from acquiring Time Warner for $85 billion due to concerns such an event might raise prices for competitors as well as for pay-TV subscribers and hinder on-line video development.

According to CNN Money, the 21 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding AT&T Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $39.00, with a high estimate of $48.00 and a low estimate of $23.00. The median estimate is a 1.99% surge compared to the closing price of $38.24 on December 15th.

The same media also reported that 17 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated AT&T Inc’s stock as “Hold”, while 6 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the AT&T stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $38.27
R2 – $38.31
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $38.34
R4 (Long Breakout) – $38.44
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $38.55
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $38.60

S1 – $38.21
S2 – $38.17
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $38.14
S4 (Short Breakout) – $38.04
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $37.93
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $37.88

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for AT&T Inc (T) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $37.68
R1 – $38.85
R2 – $39.45
R3 – $40.62
R4 – $41.78

S1 – $37.08
S2 – $35.91
S3 – $35.31
S4 – $34.70