John Hopmans Sells 93,078 Shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Stock

Key Points

• Live Nation EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares on May 7 at an average price of $166.07, generating about $15.46 million and cutting his stake by 33.03%.
• Live Nation reported Q1 earnings of ($1.85) per share, missing analyst expectations, even though revenue came in above estimates at $3.79 billion and rose 12.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on LYV, with 20 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating; the average analyst price target is $187.75.

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total transaction of $15,457,463.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 188,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of LYV traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $162.91. 3,571,340 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,009,708. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.70. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.34 and a 12-month high of $175.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.04 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 45.92% and a net margin of 0.15%.The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.32) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LYV. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $180.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $193.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.75.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,679,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,378,970,000 after acquiring an additional 372,715 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,095,305 shares of the company's stock worth $1,692,151,000 after purchasing an additional 367,624 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP boosted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,733,718 shares of the company's stock worth $817,055,000 after purchasing an additional 193,104 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,145,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,829,000 after purchasing an additional 237,342 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,707,000 after purchasing an additional 20,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.52% of the company's stock.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company's core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry's largest ticketing platforms.

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