Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Upgraded by Benchmark to “Hold” Rating

Benchmark upgraded shares of Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $110.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sphere Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.23.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of SPHR stock opened at $114.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -254.87 and a beta of 1.68. Sphere Entertainment has a 1 year low of $23.89 and a 1 year high of $118.13.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $1.35. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 2.16%.The business had revenue of $394.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $377.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($3.49) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ariel Investments LLC grew its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 7,100,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,790,000 after buying an additional 802,098 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Sphere Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,909,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 132.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 628,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,577,000 after purchasing an additional 357,794 shares during the period. Mane Global Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter worth approximately $22,143,000. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the third quarter worth approximately $20,503,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sphere Entertainment

Sphere Entertainment Co (NYSE: SPHR) is a publicly traded company focused on the development and operation of large-scale immersive entertainment venues. Established as a standalone entity in early 2023 following its separation from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Sphere leverages cutting-edge audiovisual technologies to create next-generation concert, film and cultural experiences. The company’s flagship venue in Las Vegas showcases its core capabilities, while additional projects are in various stages of development around the world.

At the Las Vegas Sphere, Sphere Entertainment has installed one of the largest LED display surfaces on the planet, wrapping audiences in 16K resolution imagery and spatial audio powered by proprietary sound systems.