Altice USA shares fell for the third straight trading day on Monday, slipping nearly 6% after analysts at Credit Suisse and Raymond James downgraded the stock.

Altice USA shares closed Monday at $19.38 each, down 5.8% or $1.20 per share, after reaching another 52-week low of $19.21 per share earlier in the day. Altice USA shares are now down 23.3% since Sept. 23, when CEO Dexter Goei said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that Q3 broadband additions for the company would be negative.

Several analysts have adjusted their estimates on Altice USA since the Goldman conference, and on Monday, Credit Suisse analyst Doug Mitchelson wrote that he was concerned about the company, adding that he was wrong about Altice USA’s broadband competitiveness and according to reports said that he expects the company’s new investment strategy to “take at least several quarters, if not longer, to begin bearing fruit.”

He lowered his rating on the shares to “neutral” from “outperform” and reduced his 12-month price target on the stock to $24 from $46 per share.

Raymond James media analyst Frank Louthan IV also noted Altice USA’s decision to move away from share repurchases -- which he saw as a key component of its valuation -- as a reason for downgrading the stock from “outperform” to “market perform” on Monday.

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There’s some good news and bad news in store for telecom suppliers in 2016 – capex spending by U.S. carriers is expected to rise, but not by much.

“For 2016, our forecast call for annual U.S capex spending growing 3% year-over-year, with Telcos (wireline + wireless) up 2%, Cable TV up 1% and Web Scale expenditures up 6%,” Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold forecasted in a research note issued last week.

This year looks a bit more challenging outside the U.S., amid anticipated weaker spending from China (down 11%) and Europe (down 7%).

“We think that U.S. telcos will continue to focus on expanding wireless capacity, as evidenced by the premiums paid for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum,” he noted.

As for the cable vertical, “the advent of DOCSIS 3.1, and the industry trend towards embracing hybrid architectures with the ultimate goal of transitioning to an all IP video distribution could increase capex allocations to networking,” Leopold said.

Operators such as Comcast and Liberty Global are expected to be among the early-movers with DOCSIS 3.1 following last week’s CableLabs certifications of D3.1 models from five suppliers – Askey Computer, Castlenet, Netgear, Technicolor and Ubee Interactive. 

Leopold also served up his top picks for 2016: Cisco Systems (thanks in part to its diversified portfolio, strong balance sheet and cash-generating ability); Arris (despite a “misperception regarding changes to video services”); and Applied Optoelectronics (“offers the highest potential reward for risk tolerant investors).

Suppliers have yet to report Q4 numbers, but Leopold said he expects calendar 2015 telco spending to drop 3% year-over-year, with cable TV capex growing 6% and web scale data center rising 10%.

EARLIER:Arris Stock Drops on Q2 Warning

Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold kept his “Strong Buy” rating on Arris but tweaked his revenue estimates and stock price target after the supplier of broadband and video gear lowered second quarter guidance due to greater than anticipated "headwinds” caused by industry consolidation and the strengthening U.S. dollar.

“Although we would have preferred better news, we continue to be confident that cable spending remains healthy over the long term, driven by a number of factors including a structural shift in the architecture towards IP and continued traffic growth,” Leopold wrote. “Faster adoption of IP networks would alter ARRIS' mix, driving faster growth of high margin CMTS [cable modem termination system[ offset by slowing low margin STB [set-top box] sales. We see long-term sales growth of 3-6% and expect the company to provide strong cash flow and likely delever and buy back shares.

Leopold recently trimmed his estimates on Arris due to expected lumpiness in customer spending driven by ongoing consolidation (Charter’s proposed acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks; and the pending AT&T-DirecTV merger), and did so again following the company’s Q2 warning issued late last week. Arris now forecasts sales of $1.25 billion to $1.26 billion, below prior guidance for $1,27 billion to $1.31 billion, with non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.51-0.55, off from prior guidance of $0.53-0.58.

Raymond James is now forecasting 2015 sales of $5.13 billion to $5.22 billion, with EPS of $2.40, from $2.52. The firm also lowered its price target from $43, to $42, “which still offers significant upside potential.”

Leopold also noted that Arris shares still reflect uncertainty with respect to the proposed merger of Arris and Pace plc. “The market values Pace shares about 8% below the implied offer,” he wrote. “We believe the deal gains approval and provides at least $0.45 of EPS accretion.”

Believing that the potential synergies outweigh the execution risks in CommScope’s $3 billion play for a big piece of TE Connectivity, Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold raised his price target on CommScope shares to $30 from $25.

Following an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal, CommScope and TE announced the all-cash deal on Wednesday, with CommScope agreeing to acquire TE Connectivity’s telecom, enterprise and wireless businesses.

Billing it as a “transformative acquisition,” CommScope said the addition of the TE assets will enable it to accelerate its move into adjacent markets and expand its global presence. The portion of TE being picked up generated annual revenues of about $1.9 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 26, 2014.  CommScope expects to close the deal before the end of the year.

CommScope’s shares soared on the news, eventually settling down and closing at $27.13, up 6.10%, on Wednesday.

Leopold, who maintained his Outperform rating on the stock, said in a research note issued Thursday: “Although the deal presents execution risk and increased debt burden, we believe management can derive synergies and deliver improved earnings. We continue to like the shares and remain buyers following the announced transaction.”

CommScope, a key supplier of broadband gear to cable operators, said it expects the deal to be in excess of 20% accretive to its adjusted earnings per share by the end of the first full year after closing, and envisions more than $150 million in annual synergies starting in the third year after closing, and more than $50 million in the first full year.

With the TE assets factored in, it would have driven $5.8 billion in net sales and $1.2 billion pro forma adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended  Sept. 30, 2014.

Based on those figures, CommScope said overall sales concentration would be more balanced and diversified:

-Wireless: 46% of sales, versus 65%.

-Enterprise : 26% of sales, versus 22%.

-Broadband connectivity: 28% of sales, versus 13%.

CommScope said its corporate headquarters will remain in Hickory, N.C.

Allen & Company LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are serving as financial advisors to CommScope.  Alston & Bird LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Baker & McKenzie and Jones Day are serving as legal advisors to CommScope.