Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Live Nation’s price target from $200 to $215 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 25% upside from the stock’s reported $171.74 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 20 analysts rate the stock a Buy, three rate it Hold, and one rates it Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $198.14.
• Live Nation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.05 in earnings per share versus a $0.66 consensus estimate and $7.67 billion in revenue, up 9.4% year over year.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 25.19% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on LYV. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $199.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Roth Capital set a $208.00 price objective on Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $197.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.14.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE LYV traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $171.74. The stock had a trading volume of 492,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,522,477. The company's 50 day moving average price is $175.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Live Nation Entertainment has a twelve month low of $125.34 and a twelve month high of $189.24. The firm has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -152.03 and a beta of 1.17.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.39. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.34% and a return on equity of 54.61%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Live Nation Entertainment's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In other news, CAO Brian Capo sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $533,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 8,655 shares in the company, valued at $1,592,520. The trade was a 25.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 3.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,095,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,692,151,000 after buying an additional 367,624 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,221,398,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth about $859,018,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,319,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,690,000 after acquiring an additional 475,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,393,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,502,000 after acquiring an additional 143,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company's stock.

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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