iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Short Interest Update

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,684,464 shares, a decrease of 17.3% from the February 26th total of 5,661,766 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,122,890 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IHRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 32,468 shares of iHeartMedia stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $105,521.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,198,545.25. This represents a 0.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IHRT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 42.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in iHeartMedia by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in iHeartMedia in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in iHeartMedia by 341.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

iHeartMedia Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of IHRT stock traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $3.01. The company had a trading volume of 319,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,318. The business’s 50-day moving average is $3.17 and its 200 day moving average is $3.49. iHeartMedia has a one year low of $0.95 and a one year high of $5.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.67 million, a PE ratio of -0.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 1.70.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.06). iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.