Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) Raised to Buy at Seaport Research Partners

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Seaport Research Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $430.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Research Partners’ price target points to a potential upside of 29.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research cut Madison Square Garden from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $290.00 to $337.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Madison Square Garden from $356.00 to $388.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Madison Square Garden from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Madison Square Garden from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Madison Square Garden currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.80.

Madison Square Garden Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE MSGS opened at $331.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -480.53 and a beta of 0.59. Madison Square Garden has a 12-month low of $183.58 and a 12-month high of $345.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.33.

Madison Square Garden (NYSE:MSGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $403.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $394.58 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Madison Square Garden will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles P. Dolan sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.26, for a total value of $1,840,646.34. Following the transaction, the director owned 435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,488.10. This represents a 92.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Madison Square Garden

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Madison Square Garden by 2.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.94% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Madison Square Garden

Here are the key news stories impacting Madison Square Garden this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Partners flagged positives around a possible spin‑out of the Knicks and Rangers (MSG Sports), suggesting a separation could unlock value and boost MSGS stock sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target on MSGS from $356 to $388 and kept a “positive” rating — a notable analyst upgrade that increases upside perception. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile events (Jayson Tatum’s emotional return to Madison Square Garden) drove ticket demand and secondary-market price spikes — evidence of premium event pricing power at MSG venues that supports near‑term revenue and F&B upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Women’s pro hockey (PWHL) and other events are setting attendance records at MSG, showing diversified event demand beyond NBA/NHL and supporting venue utilization and ancillary revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: MSG named Impossible Foods its official plant‑based burger partner for the arena and its teams, a commercial tie-up that could expand F&B offerings and brand partnerships. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest rose ~21% in March to 918,944 shares (approx. 4.7% of float) with a short‑interest ratio near 3.5 days — higher bearish positioning could add volatility, but current levels are not extreme.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal headlines: reporting of a lawsuit tied to “Dancing Larry” and other venue‑related legal matters creates headline risk and potential litigation exposure for the MSG ecosystem. Article Title

Madison Square Garden Company Profile

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp (NYSE: MSGS) is a leading sports and entertainment holding company focused on professional sports franchises and related media assets. The company owns and operates teams such as the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHL’s New York Rangers and the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Through these flagship franchises, MSG Sports offers a range of products and services including ticketing, premium seating and sponsorship opportunities, targeting fans in the New York metropolitan area and beyond.

In addition to team operations, Madison Square Garden Sports Corp holds a majority stake in MSG Networks, a regional cable network that broadcasts live sporting events, news and original programming.