iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Trading Up 5.6% – What’s Next?

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) shot up 5.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.23 and last traded at $4.34. Approximately 26,256 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 1,002,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Trading Up 6.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $659.77 million, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 2.21. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.90.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $884.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $871.50 million. iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 7.28%. On average, equities research analysts expect that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IHRT. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,061,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,022,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,154,000 after buying an additional 93,757 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,713,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after buying an additional 741,736 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,774,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,701,000 after acquiring an additional 380,557 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,989,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,441,000 after acquiring an additional 111,754 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.