Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $164.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings raised Live Nation Entertainment from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.19.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE LYV opened at $165.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.50. The company has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a PE ratio of -691.00 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. Live Nation Entertainment has a 12 month low of $122.08 and a 12 month high of $175.25.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 48.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Live Nation Entertainment

In other Live Nation Entertainment news, Director Jeffrey T. Hinson sold 944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $156,581.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 48,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,966,736.10. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 74.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment is a global live entertainment company that promotes, operates and sells tickets for live events. The company’s core activities include concert promotion and production, venue operations and management, ticketing services through its Ticketmaster platform, artist management and development, and sponsorship and advertising services tied to live events. These integrated businesses are designed to connect artists, fans and commercial partners across the live event ecosystem.

The company in its current form was created following the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, combining a promoter and venue operator with one of the industry’s largest ticketing platforms.