iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Shares Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $4.63 and last traded at $4.6050. Approximately 480,633 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 939,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

iHeartMedia Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $669.59 million, a P/E ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 2.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.87.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.61) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $884.20 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 16,349 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.97 per share, for a total transaction of $48,556.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,231,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,506,919.42. This represents a 0.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd acquired a new position in iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,061,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,022,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,154,000 after purchasing an additional 93,757 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,713,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,929,000 after purchasing an additional 741,736 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,774,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,701,000 after purchasing an additional 380,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

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.