Comcast Spinoff Versant’s Shares Tumble on First Trading Day (1)

Versant Media Group Inc., the parent of CNBC, USA and other cable-TV networks, fell 13% in its first official day of trading after being spun off from Comcast Corp.

The shares closed at $40.57 in New York, giving the company a stock market value of $5.85 billion based on 144.2 million shares outstanding. Comcast distributed the shares, which trade under the symbol VSNT on the Nasdaq exchange, to its investors on Jan. 2.

The trading gives Wall Street a fresh look at the value of cable-TV networks at a time when the future of the business appears bleak. Viewership ...