Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Trading Up 5.9% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Sphere Entertainment Co.'s stock price increased by 5.9% to $44.97, with trading volumes down 49% compared to the average.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings, with one upgrade to a "hold" and several "buy" ratings, raising the price targets significantly, while the average price target is $49.50.
• The company reported earnings of $3.39 per share, vastly exceeding analyst expectations, and recorded a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.4%.

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $44.79 and last traded at $44.97. Approximately 403,978 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 799,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SPHR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sphere Entertainment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark reissued a "sell" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.50.

Sphere Entertainment Trading Up 6.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.50 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $41.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.47.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.57) by $4.96. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 19.27% and a negative net margin of 14.68%.The firm had revenue of $282.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $280.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.00) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -11.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPHR. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 20,610 shares of the company's stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 95.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Boyar Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,457 shares of the company's stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 915.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 108.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sphere Entertainment Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.