Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $176.00 and last traded at $174.8350, with a volume of 272460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $172.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LYV shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “market outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.50.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $162.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.14 billion, a PE ratio of -98.64 and a beta of 1.12.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($1.50). Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.32) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,679,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,378,970,000 after acquiring an additional 372,715 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,095,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,692,151,000 after acquiring an additional 367,624 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,733,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,055,000 after acquiring an additional 193,104 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 4.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,145,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,829,000 after acquiring an additional 237,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,707,000 after acquiring an additional 20,165 shares during the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.