Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at BTIG Research

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) was upgraded by investment analysts at BTIG Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research cut Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

NYSE:LYV opened at $176.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Live Nation Entertainment has a one year low of $125.34 and a one year high of $188.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.96. The stock has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -99.54 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.32) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,622,555.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 6.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,160,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 15.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,983,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 344.3% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Live Nation Entertainment

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.