Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Given Sell Rating at Benchmark

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR)‘s stock had its “sell” rating restated by research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 10.20% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sphere Entertainment from $45.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $36.00 target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “positive” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.67.

Sphere Entertainment Trading Up 0.5%

SPHR stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 168,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,986. Sphere Entertainment has a 12 month low of $23.89 and a 12 month high of $50.88. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.71 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($2.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.48) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $280.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.01 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 32.76% and a negative return on equity of 16.48%. The business’s revenue was down 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.33) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sphere Entertainment will post -11.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sphere Entertainment

In other Sphere Entertainment news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 55,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.80, for a total value of $1,872,013.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 25.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPHR. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 295.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 49,351 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sphere Entertainment by 98.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 78,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 39,147 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 101.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Sphere Entertainment by 149.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 179,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,249,000 after purchasing an additional 8,751 shares during the period. 92.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sphere Entertainment Company Profile

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.