HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Sphere Entertainment Co. $SPHR

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sphere Entertainment were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Sphere Entertainment by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sphere Entertainment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. 92.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Benchmark reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim increased 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. increased their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sphere Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.50.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SPHR opened at $45.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Sphere Entertainment Co. has a 1-year low of $23.89 and a 1-year high of $49.73.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.57) by $4.96. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 14.68% and a negative return on equity of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $282.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($2.00) EPS. Sphere Entertainment’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -11.47 EPS for the current 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.