iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of iHeartMedia from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of iHeartMedia from $1.00 to $1.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.92.

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

iHeartMedia stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.66. 605,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,842. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.24 and its 200-day moving average is $1.75. The firm has a market cap of $245.05 million, a PE ratio of -0.24 and a beta of 1.75. iHeartMedia has a 52 week low of $0.95 and a 52 week high of $2.84.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $807.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.17 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman purchased 200,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.22 per share, for a total transaction of $244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,441,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,418,494.58. This represents a 4.72% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 200,725 shares of company stock worth $245,039 in the last 90 days. 8.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in iHeartMedia by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,830,745 shares of the company's stock worth $7,585,000 after acquiring an additional 789,170 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in iHeartMedia by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,221,043 shares of the company's stock worth $5,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260,142 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in iHeartMedia by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,940,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,872,316 shares of the company's stock worth $4,739,000 after purchasing an additional 532,414 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,566,735 shares of the company's stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 51,219 shares during the period. 93.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc operates as an audio media company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stations, sponsorship and events, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents syndicated radio programs and services to radio station affiliates.