BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) is rated as a ‘sell’ at UBS, with the Swiss bank cautious over the sustained pressure the Britain’s incumbent telecoms operator is facing from alternative network operators – aka ‘altnets’ in the UK broadband market.
UBS estimates that Openreach may lose around 800,000 broadband lines in 2025, compared to losses of 707,000 in 2024.
The bank has now repeated 'Sell' and a 12-month price target of 120p, compared to a current market price of 165p.
"We reiterate our view that BT is seeing rising broadband infrastructure competition that is putting pressure on both Openreach and Consumer revenues and we think Openreach needs to deploy fibre faster," the analysts said.
Moreover, UBS warned that unless BT accelerates cost-cutting, there is a downside risk to free cash flow in FY26.