Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Trading Down 9.9% – What’s Next?

Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE:SPHR) dropped 9.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.67 and last traded at $39.69. Approximately 554,662 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 739,611 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPHR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sphere Entertainment from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $37.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Sphere Entertainment from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Benchmark restated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.43.

Sphere Entertainment Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -3.98 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.39.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($2.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.32) by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $227.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.86 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative net margin of 32.76% and a negative return on equity of 16.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 93.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sphere Entertainment Co. will post -9.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPHR. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Sphere Entertainment by 8.2% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,538,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,167,000 after acquiring an additional 419,581 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Sphere Entertainment by 356.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 335,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,753,000 after acquiring an additional 261,857 shares during the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new position in Sphere Entertainment during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,816,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Sphere Entertainment by 134.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 332,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,655,000 after acquiring an additional 190,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Sphere Entertainment by 4.4% during the first quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,542,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,804,000 after acquiring an additional 106,651 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sphere Entertainment

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.