Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on LYV. Roth Capital set a $208.00 price target on Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer set a $100.00 price objective on Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $187.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $181.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:LYV opened at $174.86 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.81. Live Nation Entertainment has a one year low of $125.34 and a one year high of $189.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.20 billion, a PE ratio of -154.75 and a beta of 1.17.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.39. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 54.61% and a net margin of 0.34%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Brian Capo sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $533,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,520. This trade represents a 25.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,221,398,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the second quarter worth approximately $859,018,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 25.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,319,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,690,000 after purchasing an additional 475,373 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 11.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,393,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,502,000 after purchasing an additional 143,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Live Nation Entertainment

Here are the key news stories impacting Live Nation Entertainment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target from $200 to $215 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying substantial potential upside from current levels. Morgan Stanley raises Live Nation price target
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating and set a $215 price target, signaling continued confidence in Live Nation’s concert and live-events outlook. BTIG maintains Buy rating on Live Nation
• Positive Sentiment: Live Nation completed a note sale and extended its credit facilities to 2031, potentially improving financing flexibility and reducing near-term refinancing pressure. Live Nation closes note sale and extends credit
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch reported that LYV gained during Tuesday’s session but underperformed its competitors, suggesting the broader market move was not accompanied by strong relative buying interest. Live Nation stock underperforms competitors
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA downgraded Live Nation to Sell and separately reaffirmed that rating, creating a significant counterweight to the bullish $215 targets and likely limiting enthusiasm for the stock. CFRA downgrades Live Nation to Sell

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc is a global live entertainment company that promotes, produces and operates concerts, music festivals and other live events. Through its Live Nation Concerts business, the company works with artists and manages event production, marketing and venue operations across a broad range of musical genres.

The company also operates Ticketmaster, a ticketing platform that provides ticket sales, distribution and related services for concerts, sports events, performing arts programs and other live entertainment.