Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on LYV. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Live Nation Entertainment from $132.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Macquarie increased their price objective on Live Nation Entertainment from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Live Nation Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Live Nation Entertainment from $130.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.43.

Live Nation Entertainment Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:LYV opened at $129.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.10. Live Nation Entertainment has a 12-month low of $81.38 and a 12-month high of $130.76.

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. Live Nation Entertainment had a net margin of 2.11% and a return on equity of 77.62%. The company had revenue of $7.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Live Nation Entertainment will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Brian Capo sold 5,000 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.61, for a total value of $483,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,327 shares in the company, valued at $1,190,911.47. The trade was a 28.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ping Fu sold 1,701 shares of Live Nation Entertainment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.56, for a total transaction of $164,248.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,460,759.68. This trade represents a 10.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 175,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,097,016. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Live Nation Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 1,575.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 4,176 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 102.1% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 2,681 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,079,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,147,000 after purchasing an additional 387,008 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Live Nation Entertainment by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 488,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,526,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Live Nation Entertainment by 5.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 47,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,248,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.52% of the company’s stock.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc operates as a live entertainment company worldwide. It operates through Concerts, Ticketing, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment promotes live music events in its owned or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues. This segment operates and manages music venues; produces music festivals; creates and streams associated content; and offers management and other services to artists.