Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $36.00 target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Monday, May 19th. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.70.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of NYSE:SPHR opened at $40.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.14. Sphere Entertainment has a 12-month low of $23.89 and a 12-month high of $50.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.08 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $280.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.01 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 33.00% and a negative return on equity of 16.78%. Sphere Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.33) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPHR. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 183.8% during the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 926,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,340,000 after purchasing an additional 599,800 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 9.6% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 6,298,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,075,000 after purchasing an additional 553,947 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,432,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 132.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 628,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,577,000 after acquiring an additional 357,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 292.8% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 448,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,682,000 after acquiring an additional 334,500 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.