Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on LYV. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $120.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $132.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $118.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.53.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYV opened at $136.51 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.62. Live Nation Entertainment has a twelve month low of $81.38 and a twelve month high of $136.54. The company has a market cap of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 145.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 77.62%. The business had revenue of $7.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Rapino sold 98,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total transaction of $9,637,777.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,702,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,956,212.50. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.64, for a total transaction of $3,417,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,349,525.08. This represents a 17.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 168,799 shares of company stock worth $16,449,718. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 25.7% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 2.1% in the second quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.