Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.60.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Sphere Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock.

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

SPHR opened at $39.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.36. Sphere Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $20.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The company reported ($1.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $321.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.65 million. Sphere Entertainment had a net margin of 40.36% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 98.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.08) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sphere Entertainment will post -3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrea Greenberg sold 12,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total transaction of $618,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,909,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Lawrence Dolan bought 110,156 shares of Sphere Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.88 per share, with a total value of $5,164,113.28. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 630,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,543,541.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrea Greenberg sold 12,131 shares of Sphere Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $618,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,909,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 245,669 shares of company stock valued at $10,706,120 over the last three months. Company insiders own 24.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sphere Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter valued at $59,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp purchased a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. 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.