iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Stock Price Up 12.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) traded up 12.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $4.96 and last traded at $4.96. Approximately 972,180 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 943,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

iHeartMedia Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $739.64 million, a P/E ratio of -2.67 and a beta of 2.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.89.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 32,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.25 per share, for a total transaction of $105,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,214,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,198,545.25. This trade represents a 0.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd bought a new position in iHeartMedia during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,061,800,000. Foursixthree Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Foursixthree Capital LP now owns 2,357,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,766,000 after purchasing an additional 465,820 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in iHeartMedia by 513.5% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 229,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 192,378 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in iHeartMedia by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 41,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 7,511 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 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.