iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $3.98, but opened at $3.67. iHeartMedia shares last traded at $3.7950, with a volume of 317,106 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on IHRT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on iHeartMedia from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $4.33.

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.99. The stock has a market cap of $576.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.48, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.67.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.64. The company had revenue of $997.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 10.37%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IHRT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in iHeartMedia by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 341.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18,831 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 757.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 14,065 shares during the period. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.