Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Trading Down 7.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR)’s stock price traded down 7.5% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $45.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Sphere Entertainment traded as low as $26.74 and last traded at $26.42. 122,226 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 855,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.57.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SPHR. Benchmark restated a “sell” rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Sphere Entertainment to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 55,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.80, for a total value of $1,872,013.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 25.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPHR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,794,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,689,000 after buying an additional 29,402 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at about $306,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 7,194 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,656,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sphere Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,432,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $970.53 million, a PE ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 1.48.

Sphere Entertainment Company Profile

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.