Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Earns Sell Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their sell rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $35.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $36.00 target price on Sphere Entertainment and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Susquehanna initiated coverage on Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.67.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Performance

NYSE:SPHR opened at $39.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Sphere Entertainment has a 52-week low of $23.89 and a 52-week high of $50.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.35 and its 200 day moving average is $37.66.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.48) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $280.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.01 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 16.48% and a negative net margin of 32.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.33) EPS. Research analysts predict that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sphere Entertainment

In other Sphere Entertainment news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 55,385 shares of Sphere Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.80, for a total transaction of $1,872,013.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 25.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 183.8% in the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 926,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,340,000 after acquiring an additional 599,800 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Sphere Entertainment by 9.6% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 6,298,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,075,000 after purchasing an additional 553,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,432,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Sphere Entertainment by 132.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 628,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,577,000 after purchasing an additional 357,794 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Sphere Entertainment by 292.8% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 448,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,682,000 after purchasing an additional 334,500 shares during the period. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sphere Entertainment

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.