Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) to Strong-Buy

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $155.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1-year low of $112.88 and a 1-year high of $175.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.40. The company has a market capitalization of $36.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -646.54, a PEG ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 1.18.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 48.11%. Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 469.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Nation Entertainment

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.