Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Sphere Entertainment Co. $SPHR

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Sphere Entertainment Co. by 41.2% in the first quarter, doubling its ownership to approximately $17.14 million.
• Several other institutional investors also reported significant increases in their stakes, with Steadfast Capital Management raising theirs by 183.8% and Deutsche Bank AG by 292.8%.
• Sphere Entertainment recently reported an EPS of $3.39 for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with analysts forecasting a consensus price target of $49.50 for the stock.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 523,839 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 152,893 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.46% of Sphere Entertainment worth $17,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SPHR. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 18.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 9,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE SPHR traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 953,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,062. Sphere Entertainment Co. has a 52 week low of $23.89 and a 52 week high of $49.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -9.18 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.51.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sphere Entertainment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.50.

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.