Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Given Sell Rating at Cfra

Key Points

• Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating on Live Nation Entertainment, despite the stock having an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus from analysts and an average price target of $197.95.
• Shares traded at $172.13, near their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the stock’s 52-week range was $125.34 to $189.24.
• Live Nation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in earnings per share versus $0.66 expected and $7.67 billion in revenue, up 9.4% year over year. An insider separately sold 2,900 shares worth $533,600.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell" rating restated by investment analysts at Cfra in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LYV. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $100.00 target price on Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of LYV stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $172.13. 37,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,514,930. Live Nation Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $125.34 and a fifty-two week high of $189.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -152.85 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $174.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 54.61% and a net margin of 0.34%. Live Nation Entertainment's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Brian Capo sold 2,900 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,592,520. This represents a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LYV. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,221,398,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $859,018,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at $195,781,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 5,799.1% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 900,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,380,000 after buying an additional 885,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Live Nation Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $140,911,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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