Time Inc.’s stock surge lets Joe Ripp breathe a little

Time Inc.’s stock finally got up off the mat over the last two days after getting pummeled nearly 16 percent over the previous five trading days.

The publishing company’s shares gained back 8 percent on Friday and Tuesday — giving Chief Executive Officer Joe Ripp at least a little breather.

Trading on Tuesday was nearly triple the normal volume, as shares climbed to $13.39.

The hearty bounce off the 52-week low left some observers pondering: Why the sudden love?

Some were wondering if takeover talk was in the air again after Ripp’s herculean efforts to slow revenue decline to 2 percent in the fourth quarter — with a corner-office forecast of top line growth in 2016.

“It has to be takeover rumors,” Douglas McIntyre, editor of the 24/7 Wall St. website, said of the two-day stock surge.

Of course, the reason for the stock bounce could be purely organic.

Ripp has been following a slow-growth strategy — he pledged up to $25 million in small acquisitions this year — effectively making him the Sandy Alderson of media executives.

Alderson, general manager of the Mets, built a winner through a series of small pickups.

Ripp has steadily refused to overpay for digital assets.

On Feb. 12, Gabelli & Co. changed its recommendation on Time shares from “hold” to “buy” — with a $20 price target.

“Time appears to be moving into the early/middle stage of a transformation that includes revenue growth and a move into new headquarters,” wrote analyst Barry Lucas. “Ongoing investment in new initiatives is expected to sustain revenue increases.”

But even Gabelli was left wondering about the possibility of a Meredith/Time Inc. tie-up after the proposed Meredith and Media General merger fell apart.

“In light [of] the demise of [Meredith’s] proposed combination with Media General, it is not unthinkable that discussions between the two leading magazine publishers could resurface,” Lucas wrote.

Before the Time Inc. spinoff from parent Time Warner, Jeff Bewkes, chief executive of the media conglomerate, had approached Meredith Chief Executive Officer Steve Lacy about a deal.

But a Time-Meredith merger broke down. Bewkes finally managed to spin Time off on its own in June 2014.

Time Inc. also announced two smallish acquisitions on Tuesday — buying the YouTube automotive sites Drive and Fast Lane Daily.

Drive was owned by Tangent Vector Inc. Fast Lane was owned by Emil Rensing, who also had a stake in Drive. Terms were not disclosed.

They both are going to fall under the project being run out of its Brooklyn facility by deposed Entertainment Weekly Editor Matt Bean.

Meanwhile, Time’s launch of the drive.com site has run into some early problems.

Alan Taylor (whose real name is Alan Masters), the host of a syndicated radio show called The Drive — and who had worked with Time Inc. on developing a joint venture project — sued Time for trademark infringement, claiming the publisher stole his show’s name and exploited him to make auto industry contacts.

Craig Huber, a media analyst who has been recommending that Time shares be sold since it was spun off, doubted whether the two deals by themselves — which were announced mid-afternoon — were the reason for the all-day stock surge.

“Seems like small potatoes [and] more of the same,” Huber said, “buying digital to diversify away from print magazines.”

A Meredith spokesman issued the standard “no comment” on the possibility of rekindling talks with Time Inc.

“We don’t comment on speculation or rumors,” he said.

The company that owns TV stations Better Homes & Gardens — and, recently, Martha Stewart Living — also finished trading up 3.6 percent on Tuesday, to close at $41.46.