Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Live Nation Entertainment has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 20 of 23 analysts rating it a buy and an average 1-year price target of $187.75.
• Recent analyst updates were mostly bullish, including higher price targets from Sanford C. Bernstein and UBS Group, while Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from sell to hold.
• Despite strong revenue growth in its latest quarter, Live Nation missed earnings expectations; it reported EPS of -$1.85 versus a forecast of -$0.35, though revenue came in above estimates at $3.79 billion.

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $187.75.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $164.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Live Nation Entertainment from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th.

Insider Activity at Live Nation Entertainment

In related news, EVP Michael Rowles sold 63,776 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total value of $10,474,570.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 204,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,622,555.84. The trade was a 23.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Hopmans sold 93,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.07, for a total value of $15,457,463.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 188,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,345,878.57. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 157,798 shares of company stock valued at $26,088,615 in the last 90 days. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,679,128 shares of the company's stock worth $3,378,970,000 after purchasing an additional 372,715 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,692,151,000 after acquiring an additional 367,624 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 5,733,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $817,055,000 after acquiring an additional 193,104 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,145,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $840,829,000 after acquiring an additional 237,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,301,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $610,707,000 after acquiring an additional 20,165 shares in the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE LYV opened at $169.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.36 and a 200-day moving average of $149.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -95.48 and a beta of 1.11. Live Nation Entertainment has a 52 week low of $125.34 and a 52 week high of $175.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($1.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($1.50). The business had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.57 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 45.92%. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.32) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.