iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Reaches New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• iHeartMedia reached a new 52‑week high, trading as high as $6.40 during mid‑day with about 77,900 shares changing hands and a market cap near $927 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Reduce with an average target of $4.25, and firms including Goldman Sachs and Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to Sell.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates ($0.04 vs. $0.10) despite $1.12B in revenue, while CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 32,468 shares at roughly $3.25, increasing his stake.

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.40 and last traded at $6.1750, with a volume of 77927 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded iHeartMedia from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.67. The stock has a market cap of $927.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.00, a P/E/G ratio of 60.69 and a beta of 2.33.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 12.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 32,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $105,521.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,214,937 shares in the company, valued at $20,198,545.25. This represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Xponance LLC acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company's stock.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc NASDAQ: IHRT is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.

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