(Bloomberg) - Mario Gabelli wants fellow baseball fans to understand that team loyalties aside, they should embrace the Atlanta Braves.
“There’s about 62 million shares of BATRA and BATRK,” two tickers for the team’s publicly traded shares, and “our clients own a significant piece of the voting stock,” founder of Gamco Investors Inc. told Bloomberg Television’s Surveillance on Wednesday. “I think you will get to 45 to 55 a share” from the current price of about 39.
Back in November, Liberty Media Corp. said it would pursue a split off of the Atlanta Braves. Since the announcement, the shares have more than tripled the performance of the S&P 500.
Morgan Stanley analyst analyst Benjamin Swinburne raised the target on Liberty Media Corp-Liberty Braves Class C to $44 from $28 on Monday while maintaining an equal-weight rating.
But could a die-hard New York Mets fan take the plunge and own a piece of an arch-rival?
“If you don’t want to own it, such is life. It’s your portfolio,” said Gabelli. “But everybody should get 100 shares for Mother’s Day for someone you like.”
(Updates with closing prices)
John McCorry and Tom Keene
With assistance from Lisa Abramowicz
