Sirius Is Worth the Risk, Even If John Malone Doesn’t Raise His Bet

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI ) shares jumped nearly 4% Monday after the New
York Pos t reported that billionaire John Malones Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA )
was set to "double down" on his earlier bet on the satellite radio provider
that saved it from bankruptcy. That would surely give Sirius some added lift.
But even if the rumor is baseless, investors should bet on the company. For one
thing, its stock is reasonably valued. Sirius trades at a price-earnings ratio
of 51.43, still high but cheaper than where it has been in the past five years,
according to Reuters . Its multiple on a price-sales basis is 2.25, in line with
the S&P 500's 2.11. Year-to-date, Sirius is up more than 13%, beating the
NASDAQ Composite index, which is off almost 5%. Wall Street has a mean price
target on the New York-based company of $2.30, well above the $1.85 level where
it closed Monday. Plenty seems to be going right for Sirius. As of Sept. 30 , it
had a record subscriber base of more than 21 million, up 7% from a year earlier.