Vanguard Group Inc. Buys Shares of 2,689,471 Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR)

Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,689,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,941,000. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.76% of Sphere Entertainment at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ariel Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at about $171,186,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at about $63,127,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at about $32,884,000. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at about $24,458,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at about $23,152,000. 92.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SPHR shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sphere Entertainment from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sphere Entertainment has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.60.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SPHR stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 406,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $43.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.65. Sphere Entertainment Co. has a 1-year low of $20.68 and a 1-year high of $51.83.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported ($4.91) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($4.42). Sphere Entertainment had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 40.36%. The firm had revenue of $314.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company's revenue was up 96.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -3.88 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sphere Entertainment news, CEO Andrea Greenberg sold 12,131 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $618,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,909,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Lawrence Dolan acquired 76,139 shares of Sphere Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.73 per share, for a total transaction of $3,101,141.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 520,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,181,188.47. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrea Greenberg sold 12,131 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $618,681.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,909,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 245,669 shares of company stock worth $10,706,120 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 24.46% of the company's stock.

About Sphere Entertainment

Sphere Entertainment Co engages in the entertainment business. It produces, presents, or hosts various live entertainment events, including concerts, family shows, and special events, as well as sporting events, such as professional boxing, college basketball and hockey, professional bull riding, mixed martial arts, and esports and wrestling in its venues, including The Garden, Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall, and the Beacon Theatre in New York City; and The Chicago Theatre.