TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Arete Research

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) was upgraded by analysts at Arete Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $208.00 price objective on the stock. Arete Research’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.02% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on TKO Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $237.00 price objective on shares of TKO Group in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on TKO Group from $235.00 to $224.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of TKO Group in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TKO Group in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TKO Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.15.

TKO Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:TKO opened at $174.77 on Tuesday. TKO Group has a 12 month low of $170.92 and a 12 month high of $226.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.44. The firm has a market cap of $33.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.32 and a beta of 0.67.

TKO Group (NYSE:TKO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. TKO Group had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 2.67%. The company’s revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that TKO Group will post 4.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Schleimer sold 9,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.39, for a total transaction of $1,932,625.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 38,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,396,733.89. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Mark Shapiro sold 19,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.39, for a total value of $3,716,736.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 147,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,589,131.69. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 97,325 shares of company stock worth $18,798,012 over the last 90 days. 64.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of TKO Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in TKO Group by 543.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in TKO Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its position in TKO Group by 211.1% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 308 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in TKO Group during the first quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TKO Group during the first quarter worth approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.79% of the company’s stock.

About TKO Group

TKO Group Holdings, Inc is a sports and entertainment company that owns and operates UFC and WWE, two global combat-sports and sports-entertainment brands. UFC promotes mixed martial arts events, while WWE produces live and televised professional wrestling programming featuring its roster of performers, storylines and branded events.

In addition to its core properties, TKO provides related media, licensing, sponsorship, live-event and consumer-products opportunities. The company’s businesses serve audiences internationally through live events, broadcast and streaming distribution, digital content, merchandise and other commercial partnerships.

TKO was formed in 2023 through the combination of UFC and WWE under Endeavor Group Holdings.