iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,567,062 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 344% from the previous session’s volume of 803,519 shares.The stock last traded at $5.3050 and had previously closed at $5.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IHRT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $4.00 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $951.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06, a P/E/G ratio of 57.24 and a beta of 2.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.66.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.06). iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 16,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.97 per share, for a total transaction of $48,556.53. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,231,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,506,919.42. This trade represents a 0.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 99.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,214,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,976 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in iHeartMedia by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,872,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 532,414 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in iHeartMedia during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in iHeartMedia by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,822,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,968,000 after purchasing an additional 186,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in iHeartMedia by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 11,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.