Capital Fund Management S.A. Grows Stake in Sphere Entertainment Co. $SPHR

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in Sphere Entertainment Co. by 48.4%, now holding 92,277 shares valued at approximately $3.02 million.
• Research firms have shown optimism about Sphere Entertainment's future, with analysts at Guggenheim setting a new price target of $74.00 and giving the stock a "buy" rating.
• Sphere Entertainment reported a quarterly EPS of $3.39, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of a loss, with revenue touching $282.68 million, a 3.4% increase from the previous year.

Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its position in Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Free Report) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,277 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,093 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned 0.26% of Sphere Entertainment worth $3,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,744,192 shares of the company's stock worth $231,606,000 after acquiring an additional 394,050 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,465,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,084,000 after buying an additional 9,837 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 183.8% during the 4th quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 926,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,340,000 after buying an additional 599,800 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 523,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,140,000 after buying an additional 152,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 292.8% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 448,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,682,000 after buying an additional 334,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPHR. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.50.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Sphere Entertainment stock traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $43.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,010,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,060. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $42.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.54. Sphere Entertainment Co. has a 52 week low of $23.89 and a 52 week high of $49.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.57) by $4.96. The business had revenue of $282.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.23 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 19.27% and a negative net margin of 14.68%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.00) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

About Sphere Entertainment

Sphere Entertainment Co engages in the entertainment business. It produces, presents, or hosts various live entertainment events, including concerts, family shows, and special events, as well as sporting events, such as professional boxing, college basketball and hockey, professional bull riding, mixed martial arts, and esports and wrestling in its venues, including The Garden, Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theatre in New York City; and The Chicago Theatre.