Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Receives Sell Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their sell rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Macquarie upped their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $38.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $48.00 to $43.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sphere Entertainment from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $45.83.

Sphere Entertainment Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SPHR opened at $43.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.78. Sphere Entertainment has a 52-week low of $27.02 and a 52-week high of $51.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($2.00) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.47) by $0.47. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 9.02% and a negative net margin of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $273.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $15.43 earnings per share. Sphere Entertainment’s revenue for the quarter was up 111.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sphere Entertainment will post -6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sphere Entertainment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ariel Investments LLC increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,538,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,167,000 after acquiring an additional 419,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,787,000 after acquiring an additional 17,613 shares during the period. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,542,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,804,000 after acquiring an additional 106,651 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,534,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,095,000 after acquiring an additional 299,931 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 960,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,145,000 after acquiring an additional 69,001 shares during the period. 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.