Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LYV. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Live Nation Entertainment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $193.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Live Nation Entertainment from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $198.00 price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.40.

Live Nation Entertainment Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE:LYV opened at $154.14 on Friday. Live Nation Entertainment has a 1 year low of $113.20 and a 1 year high of $175.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -642.25 and a beta of 1.11.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.00) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.12 billion. Live Nation Entertainment had a return on equity of 48.11% and a net margin of 1.79%.Live Nation Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Live Nation Entertainment will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,269,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment in the second quarter valued at $415,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 48.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 26,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in Live Nation Entertainment by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 23,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. 74.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.