Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on LYV. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.40.

Live Nation Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LYV opened at $157.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -654.39 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment has a twelve month low of $113.20 and a twelve month high of $175.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.59 and a 200 day moving average of $150.13.

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

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $156,581.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Audent Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 11,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 122.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 62,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,305,000 after acquiring an additional 34,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

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.