BUZZ — Fox gains after BofA double upgrades on Roku deal

* Fox Corp shares up 1.7% to $65.08 on Fri after BofA Global Research upgrades media co to 'buy' from 'underperform', saying the pending Roku acquisition improves risk-reward and streaming positioning * Brokerage hikes PT from $54 to $85, implying 33% upside to stock's last close; Wall Street median analyst PT is $76, per LSEG * BofA says with the transaction expected to close in early 2027, Roku gives Fox a scaled OS and distribution platform, easing prior concerns over Fox's long-term shift from linear TV to DTC and pushing NFL renewal risk closer to the 2029 opt-out window * BofA sees about $530 mln of revenue synergies, and says Fox's $400 mln run-rate cost synergy target looks achievable through ad sales, ad-tech and corporate overhead savings * The Fox News parent in Jun said it would buy Roku for about $22 bln in cash and stock * 13 of 22 brokerages covering FOXA rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 9 "hold" * Stock now down about 11% YTD, lagging 4.5% advance in S&P 500 Communication Services (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own) ((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380)