iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Unusually-high trading volume: IHRT traded about 3.57 million shares on Wednesday, a 344% increase from the prior session, with the stock near $5.31 and down roughly 4.5% intraday.
• Analysts are bearish: The consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $4.25 average price target, and recent downgrades include Goldman Sachs cutting the stock to a Sell with a $3.50 target.
• Weak recent results but insider buying: iHeart missed EPS ($0.04 vs. $0.10 est.) and has negative net margin and ROE with a market cap around $768M; CEO Robert Pittman bought shares at $3.25 and insiders own about 8.5% of the company.

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,567,062 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 344% from the previous session's volume of 803,519 shares.The stock last traded at $5.3050 and had previously closed at $5.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IHRT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered iHeartMedia from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, iHeartMedia has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $768.27 million, a P/E ratio of -1.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 50.34 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $3.37 and a 200 day moving average of $3.63.

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

Insider Transactions at iHeartMedia

In related news, CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 32,468 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.25 per share, for a total transaction of $105,521.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,198,545.25. This trade represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IHRT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in iHeartMedia during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 67.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in iHeartMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $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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