Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Sphere Entertainment Co. has received a consensus "Hold" rating from analysts, with two sell ratings, three holds, and five buys assigned by the ten firms covering it.
• The average target price for the stock among brokers is $54.88, with Goldman Sachs raising their price target from $50 to $68 while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Recently, the company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.39, significantly beating estimates, and its quarterly revenue increased by 3.4% year-over-year.

Shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.8750.

SPHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of SPHR stock opened at $62.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.76 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.89 and its 200 day moving average is $41.78. Sphere Entertainment has a 12 month low of $23.89 and a 12 month high of $68.00.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.57) by $4.96. The firm had revenue of $282.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.23 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 19.27% and a negative net margin of 14.68%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($2.00) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sphere Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 95.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 915.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 12.4% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 6,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 0.4% in the second quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 184,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,705,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% 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.

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