Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Piper Sandler

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Piper Sandler to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SPHR. Weiss Ratings raised Sphere Entertainment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Sphere Entertainment from $159.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. New Street Research set a $188.00 target price on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment from $150.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Sphere Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.93.

Sphere Entertainment Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of SPHR stock opened at $155.94 on Thursday. Sphere Entertainment has a 12-month low of $39.52 and a 12-month high of $181.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of -58.19 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $154.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Sphere Entertainment (NYSE:SPHR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.51) by $0.44. The company had revenue of $313.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.44 million. Sphere Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 1.38% and a negative net margin of 6.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sphere Entertainment will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sphere Entertainment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPHR. Steadfast Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Sphere Entertainment by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 1,256,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,054,000 after acquiring an additional 10,720 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 760,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,775,000 after purchasing an additional 142,997 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 132.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 628,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,577,000 after purchasing an additional 357,794 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 149.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 559,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,736,000 after purchasing an additional 335,900 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Sphere Entertainment by 24.8% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 523,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,510,000 after purchasing an additional 104,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

About Sphere Entertainment

Sphere Entertainment Co (NYSE: SPHR) is a publicly traded company focused on the development and operation of large-scale immersive entertainment venues. Established as a standalone entity in early 2023 following its separation from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Sphere leverages cutting-edge audiovisual technologies to create next-generation concert, film and cultural experiences. The company’s flagship venue in Las Vegas showcases its core capabilities, while additional projects are in various stages of development around the world.

At the Las Vegas Sphere, Sphere Entertainment has installed one of the largest LED display surfaces on the planet, wrapping audiences in 16K resolution imagery and spatial audio powered by proprietary sound systems.