PreMarket Prep Stock Of The Day: EW Scripps

Benzinga's PreMarket Prep airs every morning from 8-9 a.m. ET. During that fast-paced, highly informative hour, traders and investors tune in to get the major news of the day, the catalysts behind those moves and the corresponding price action for the upcoming session.

On any given day, the show will cover at least 20 stocks determined by co-hosts Joel Elconin and Dennis Dick along with producer Spencer Israel.

The Company: E.W. Scripps Co SSP is a media enterprise with interests in local and national media brands. It owns and operates a collection of daily and community newspapers, primarily in medium-sized cities in the southern and western portions of the United States.

Change Of Heart For Buffett: After Friday's close, Warren Buffett disclosed a 24.9% passive stake in the company. What makes the move interesting is that one year ago, Buffett made a move that signaled he was exiting or lightening up his exposure in the media industry.

On Jan. 29, 2020, Lee Enterprises of Davenport, Iowa, which had managed Berkshire's media group for the last 18 months, agreed to pay $140 million for the assets. The financing comes from about $576 million Berkshire is loaning Lee Enterprises to refinance and $400 million in long-term debt. Berkshire would become Lee's sole lender.

Friday News Dump: The vast majority of the trading world was done for the week at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, especially ahead of a three-day weekend. However, Dennis Dick continues his daily routine of trading until the conclusion of the after-hours session, which occurs at 8 p.m.

Therefore, when the announcement was made on Friday around 5:30 p.m. of Buffett’s large stake being taken in the issue, Dick aggressively purchased shares in the after-hours session.

“I traded the headline Friday night, but apparently no one else was paying attention to it,” said Dick. “It just sat in the mid-$15s for over an hour, and then it was announced on CNBC. It finally popped and I was able to sell it in the mid-$16 handle.”

The full discussion on the issue from Tuesday’s show can be found here:

Additional Price Action: The issue continued higher in the after-hours session, peaking at $17.50, up from its closing price of $14.84, and reversed course. It peaked off the open of the regular session at $16.10 and retreated into the mid-$15 handle as the late buyers to the news are having to sell into weakness as opposed to the strength that occurred in the after-hours session.

The stock traded around $15.78 at publication time.