iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Trading 10.7% Higher – Time to Buy?

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) shot up 10.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $3.96 and last traded at $3.9740. 360,011 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 960,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on IHRT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on iHeartMedia from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $575.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 2.21.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $884.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IHRT. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 42.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in iHeartMedia during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in iHeartMedia by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 341.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18,831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

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.