Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $188.50.

LYV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Live Nation Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $203.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $15,457,463.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares in the company, valued at $31,345,878.57. This trade represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value of $10,474,570.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. This trade represents a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:LYV opened at $186.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.11. Live Nation Entertainment has a 52-week low of $125.34 and a 52-week high of $187.63.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.32) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

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.