Wall Street Zen Upgrades iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) to Hold

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on iHeartMedia from $1.00 to $1.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on iHeartMedia from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.92.

iHeartMedia Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:IHRT opened at $1.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.05 million, a P/E ratio of -0.24 and a beta of 1.75. iHeartMedia has a 1-year low of $0.95 and a 1-year high of $2.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.75.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $807.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $790.17 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman acquired 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.22 per share, for a total transaction of $244,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,441,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,418,494.58. This trade represents a 4.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 200,725 shares of company stock valued at $245,039 in the last ninety days. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IHRT. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,221,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,142 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,214,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,976 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,830,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 789,170 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 139.0% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,049,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 610,449 shares during the period. Finally, Helix Partners Management LP grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 123.1% in the 1st quarter. Helix Partners Management LP now owns 1,026,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 566,163 shares during the period. 93.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc operates as an audio media company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stations, sponsorship and events, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents syndicated radio programs and services to radio station affiliates.