iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.85, but opened at $4.27. iHeartMedia shares last traded at $4.2740, with a volume of 654,605 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, iHeartMedia has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Stock Down 14.5%

The company has a market cap of $626.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 2.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.89.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.12). iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 7.28%.The business had revenue of $884.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $871.50 million. Analysts predict that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert W. Pittman acquired 16,349 shares of iHeartMedia stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.97 per share, for a total transaction of $48,556.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,231,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,506,919.42. The trade was a 0.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IHRT. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 251,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,869 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 220.0% during the first quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 275,000 shares during the last quarter. Sona Asset Management US LLC boosted its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 15.5% during the first quarter. Sona Asset Management US LLC now owns 1,874,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,474,000 after buying an additional 251,097 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in iHeartMedia by 4.5% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 828,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after acquiring an additional 35,400 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its position in iHeartMedia by 241.2% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 59,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 41,742 shares during the period. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.