Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Nation Entertainment from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.40.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $154.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a PE ratio of -642.25 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.30. Live Nation Entertainment has a one year low of $113.20 and a one year high of $175.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 48.11% and a net margin of 1.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $156,581.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 48,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Audent Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 11,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 122.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 62,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,305,000 after buying an additional 34,369 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.