Axiom On 'Facing The (Apple) Music'

In a report published Wednesday, Axiom Capital analyst Victor Anthony maintained a Hold rating on Pandora Media Inc (NYSE: P), while raising the price target from $17 to $18, citing growing competition and uncertain content costs as concern areas.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has launched a new on-demand subscription service that comes with Beats 1. It's a 24-hour radio global radio service that will be streamed from New York, Los Angeles and London. The service is priced at $9.99 per month, while a user has the option of paying $14.99 per month for a family plan for up to six users.

Apple has launched another service called Connect which enables users and artists to interact as well as allows users to call up song recommendations. Apple Music is expected to be made available to Android users in the fall.

With the launch of Apple Music, the competitive landscape has increased for Pandora, which already has to contend with Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI). "Whether all the bells and whistles that come with the new Apple offering are enough to sway usage away from Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM and many others in an already crowded field, or whether Apple opens up the category, remains to be seen," analyst Victor Anthony said.

In either scenario, competition would continue to be an area of concern for Pandora, and "the rise of new entrants, whether on demand or lean-back services, will likely continue to pressure user growth," Anthony added.