Insider Buying: iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) CEO Acquires $48,556.53 in Stock

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) CEO Robert Pittman purchased 16,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.97 per share, for a total transaction of $48,556.53. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,231,286 shares in the company, valued at $18,506,919.42. The trade was a 0.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:IHRT opened at $2.95 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.43. iHeartMedia, Inc. has a 12-month low of $0.95 and a 12-month high of $5.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $442.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.96, a PEG ratio of 29.63 and a beta of 1.70.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 12.24% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IHRT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd bought a new position in iHeartMedia during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,061,800,000. Sona Asset Management US LLC raised its stake in iHeartMedia by 2,693.8% during the 4th quarter. Sona Asset Management US LLC now owns 1,623,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,754,000 after buying an additional 1,565,457 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in iHeartMedia by 99.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,214,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after buying an additional 1,105,976 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,204,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,713,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,929,000 after buying an additional 741,736 shares during the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

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.