Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday after Macquarie raised their price target on the stock from $38.00 to $47.00. Macquarie currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 609,063 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 701,671 shares.The stock last traded at $48.99 and had previously closed at $46.24.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Benchmark started coverage on Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sphere Entertainment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $37.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sphere Entertainment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Institutional Trading of Sphere Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterStar Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at about $755,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. now owns 225,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,641,000 after buying an additional 34,789 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 64,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,000 after buying an additional 38,271 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($2.00) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.47) by $0.47. Sphere Entertainment had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 43.36%. The business had revenue of $273.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $15.43 earnings per share. Sphere Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was up 111.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.