BTIG Research Begins Coverage on TKO Group (NYSE:TKO)

Key Points

• TKO Group was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by BTIG Research, signaling increased confidence in the stock's future performance.
• The company announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that its board believes the stock is undervalued.
• Despite reporting a missed earnings estimate of $1.17 per share compared to the expected $1.23, TKO Group's revenue grew significantly by 53.7% year-over-year.

Equities research analysts at BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of TKO Group (NYSE:TKO - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W raised TKO Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $205.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Northcoast Research lowered shares of TKO Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.07.

TKO Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:TKO opened at $198.26 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. TKO Group has a 1 year low of $114.01 and a 1 year high of $212.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.32 billion, a PE ratio of 81.93 and a beta of 0.76.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). TKO Group had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 53.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that TKO Group will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

TKO Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Peter C. B. Bynoe bought 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $203.00 per share, with a total value of $150,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,187 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,961. This trade represents a 16.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nick Khan sold 9,519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.82, for a total value of $1,883,048.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 128,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,325,509.86. The trade was a 6.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,725 shares of company stock worth $12,966,373. 53.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TKO Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in TKO Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,163,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in TKO Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in TKO Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its position in TKO Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 71,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,902,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in TKO Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.79% of the company's stock.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.