Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) from “equal weight” to “overweight” and set a $450 price target, implying about 17.4% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall: the stock currently has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $403, though some firms recently raised their targets and issued Buy/Positive ratings.
• MSGS recently reported Q3 earnings of -$0.83 per share, missing expectations, while revenue came in slightly above estimates at $432.2 million and was up 1.9% year over year.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm presently has a $450.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.41% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on shares of Madison Square Garden from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Madison Square Garden from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Madison Square Garden from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Madison Square Garden in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $429.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $403.00.

Madison Square Garden Price Performance

Shares of MSGS stock opened at $383.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of -412.10 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $371.83 and a 200-day moving average of $327.64. Madison Square Garden has a one year low of $188.60 and a one year high of $411.73.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($1.39). The company had revenue of $432.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $429.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.59) earnings per share. Madison Square Garden's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Madison Square Garden will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSGS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Madison Square Garden by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 699,378 shares of the company's stock worth $180,895,000 after buying an additional 282,318 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Madison Square Garden by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 648,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,739,000 after acquiring an additional 49,412 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 613,391 shares of the company's stock worth $158,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Madison Square Garden by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 538,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,258,000 after purchasing an additional 15,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Madison Square Garden by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 394,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,607 shares during the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp NYSE: MSGS is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers and the WNBA's New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.

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