Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Free Report) by 152.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,392 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,015 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of Sphere Entertainment worth $1,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 926,100 shares of the company's stock worth $37,340,000 after purchasing an additional 599,800 shares during the period. 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 valued at $231,606,000 after buying an additional 394,050 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,432,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 929.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 285,885 shares of the company's stock worth $11,527,000 after acquiring an additional 258,123 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a "positive" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sphere Entertainment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Down 5.5%

NYSE:SPHR traded down $2.35 on Friday, hitting $40.70. The stock had a trading volume of 766,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,083. Sphere Entertainment Co. has a 1 year low of $23.89 and a 1 year high of $50.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.06 and a beta of 1.71.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.21. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 16.78% and a negative net margin of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $280.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.33) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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.