Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Rating Increased to Buy at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark upgraded Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) from a "hold" to a "buy" and set a $155 price target, implying roughly a 13.5% upside from the company's current price.
• Sphere delivered an earnings beat, reporting ($0.04) EPS versus ($0.86) expected and revenue of $386.41M vs. $313.41M est., a 37.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Overall analyst coverage is largely positive (10 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell), giving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $137.17.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Benchmark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $155.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark's target price points to a potential upside of 13.46% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $110.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $127.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Monday, April 20th. New Street Research set a $110.00 price target on Sphere Entertainment in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sphere Entertainment has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.17.

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of SPHR opened at $136.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -303.59 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.86 and a 200-day moving average of $99.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Sphere Entertainment has a 52 week low of $27.61 and a 52 week high of $149.00.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by $0.82. The company had revenue of $386.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.41 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 2.16%.The business's revenue was up 37.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.27) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sphere Entertainment will post -2.51 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sphere Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 608 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 450 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 4,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

About Sphere Entertainment

Sphere Entertainment Co NYSE: SPHR is a publicly traded company focused on the development and operation of large-scale immersive entertainment venues. Established as a standalone entity in early 2023 following its separation from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Sphere leverages cutting-edge audiovisual technologies to create next-generation concert, film and cultural experiences. The company’s flagship venue in Las Vegas showcases its core capabilities, while additional projects are in various stages of development around the world.

At the Las Vegas Sphere, Sphere Entertainment has installed one of the largest LED display surfaces on the planet, wrapping audiences in 16K resolution imagery and spatial audio powered by proprietary sound systems.

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