Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.60.

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

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

SPHR opened at $37.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.03. Sphere Entertainment has a 12-month low of $20.68 and a 12-month high of $51.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.40.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported ($4.91) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($4.42). Sphere Entertainment had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 40.36%. The firm had revenue of $314.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. Sphere Entertainment’s revenue was up 96.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sphere Entertainment will post -3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 6,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 4.2% in the first quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 22,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

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.