iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning.

IHRT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of iHeartMedia from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of iHeartMedia from $1.00 to $1.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.92.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of IHRT stock opened at $1.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $181.03 million, a PE ratio of -0.18 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.84. iHeartMedia has a twelve month low of $0.81 and a twelve month high of $2.84.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $807.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.17 million. Equities research analysts predict that iHeartMedia will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at iHeartMedia

In other iHeartMedia news, CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.60 per share, with a total value of $320,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,241,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,222.40. This trade represents a 4.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard J. Bressler bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.79 per share, for a total transaction of $179,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,617,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,475,797.56. This trade represents a 2.84% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 500,000 shares of company stock worth $743,000 in the last ninety days. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IHRT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 64.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,221,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,142 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 99.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,214,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,976 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,830,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 789,170 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 139.0% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,049,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 610,449 shares during the period. Finally, Helix Partners Management LP raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 123.1% during the first quarter. Helix Partners Management LP now owns 1,026,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 566,163 shares during the period. 93.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc operates as an audio media company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stations, sponsorship and events, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents syndicated radio programs and services to radio station affiliates.