Piper Sandler Reaffirms "Overweight" Rating for Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR)

Key Points

• Piper Sandler reaffirmed its “Overweight” rating on Sphere Entertainment but lowered its price target from $185 to $145, implying approximately 32.6% upside from the stock’s $109.33 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 11 Buy ratings, two Holds and one Sell; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $162.27.
• Sphere reported quarterly revenue of $313.64 million, up 10.9% year over year, and an adjusted loss of $1.07 per share that beat estimates, though the stock remains unprofitable and recently traded 2% lower.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $145.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $185.00. Piper Sandler's target price would indicate a potential upside of 32.62% from the company's current price.

SPHR has been the topic of several other reports. Guggenheim cut their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $208.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $150.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seaport Research Partners set a $160.00 price target on Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. New Street Research set a $188.00 price objective on Sphere Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded Sphere Entertainment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sphere Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.27.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of SPHR traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $109.33. 135,979 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 778,786. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.80 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $134.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Sphere Entertainment has a twelve month low of $64.00 and a twelve month high of $181.63.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.51) by $0.44. The business had revenue of $313.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.44 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 6.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.38%. Sphere Entertainment's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sphere Entertainment will post -2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Kercheville Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the third quarter valued at about $336,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 114.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,162,000 after purchasing an additional 464,609 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 18.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company's stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 13.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Sphere Entertainment Company Profile

Sphere Entertainment Co is an entertainment and media company focused on immersive live experiences and sports and entertainment programming. Its principal asset is Sphere, a next-generation venue in Las Vegas featuring a large exterior LED display, a high-resolution interior screen, advanced audio technology and immersive production capabilities.

Sphere presents concerts, residencies, films and other experiences, while its Sphere Studios business develops original content and technology for the venue and other immersive applications.

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