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

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $4.85, but opened at $4.27. iHeartMedia shares last traded at $4.2740, with a volume of 654,605 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 14.5%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $4.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.89. The firm has a market cap of $626.52 million, a P/E ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 2.33.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $884.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $871.50 million. iHeartMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 7.28%. Analysts predict that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 32,468 shares of iHeartMedia stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.25 per share, for a total transaction of $105,521.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,198,545.25. The trade was a 0.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd bought a new position in iHeartMedia in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,061,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,022,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,154,000 after buying an additional 93,757 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,713,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after buying an additional 741,736 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,774,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,701,000 after buying an additional 380,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,989,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,441,000 after buying an additional 111,754 shares in the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

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.