Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Live Nation Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.95.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Performance

Live Nation Entertainment stock opened at $155.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51. The firm has a market cap of $36.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -646.54, a P/E/G ratio of 18.81 and a beta of 1.18. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1-year low of $112.88 and a 1-year high of $175.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $147.22 and a 200-day moving average of $150.40.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Live Nation Entertainment

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LYV. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 469.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Live Nation Entertainment by 102.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Live Nation Entertainment Company Profile

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.