Sphere Entertainment’s (SPHR) Sell Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their sell rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $36.00 price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sphere Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

Sphere Entertainment Price Performance

SPHR opened at $39.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Sphere Entertainment has a 52-week low of $23.89 and a 52-week high of $50.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.66. The company has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 1.51.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $280.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.01 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 32.76% and a negative return on equity of 16.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.33) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 55,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.80, for a total value of $1,872,013.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 25.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sphere Entertainment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 295.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 49,351 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 98.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 78,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 39,147 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 101.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 149.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 179,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,249,000 after acquiring an additional 8,751 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is 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.