Citigroup (NYSE:C) Likes DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH), Maintains Buy Rating

Citigroup (NYSE:C) likes what it sees with DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH), and maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the company as a result.

Quarterly earnings for the company exceeded analysts’ expectations, as they generated $0.52 a share, while the street was looking for $0.50 a share.

Revenue for DISH beat what Citigroup had been looking for by 2.8 percent, although it was in line with consensus on the Street.

In a note to clients, Citigroup analysts said that “operationally, DISH beat our expectations on several metrics, including net adds and churn. DISH posted net adds of 237k versus our net loss estimate of 34k. Churn of 1.40% was much better than our estimate of 1.64%.”

Consequently, Citigroup continues to maintain their Buy rating on DISH, with a price target of $24, even though net income was down 26 percent for the quarter.

There are concerns for DISH in their battle with TiVo (Nasdaq:TIVO) over a patent-infringement case, which if they lose, could ultimately cost the company up to $3 billion if they decide to shut down millions of digital video recorders.

DISH was trading at $21.99 a share at 1:48 EST today.