iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Trading Down 5.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) dropped 5.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $3.76 and last traded at $3.77. Approximately 354,466 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 992,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $565.31 million, a PE ratio of -2.03 and a beta of 2.21.

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

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IHRT. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of iHeartMedia during the third quarter valued at $52,061,800,000. Foursixthree Capital LP boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Foursixthree Capital LP now owns 2,357,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,766,000 after purchasing an additional 465,820 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 513.5% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 229,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 192,378 shares in the last quarter. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in iHeartMedia during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,199,000. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC grew its position in iHeartMedia by 220.0% during the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 275,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.