iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT – Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $9.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $15.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.21% from the company’s previous close.
Several other research firms have also issued reports on IHRT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on iHeartMedia from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America cut iHeartMedia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, June 24th. B. Riley decreased their price target on iHeartMedia from $40.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded iHeartMedia from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, July 8th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded iHeartMedia from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.
iHeartMedia Stock Performance
NASDAQ:IHRT opened at $8.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.61. iHeartMedia has a twelve month low of $6.43 and a twelve month high of $27.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.58.
Insider Buying and Selling at iHeartMedia
In related news, Director James A. Rasulo bought 40,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.95 per share, with a total value of $480,664.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 87,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,712.45. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 22,682,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,245,000 after buying an additional 878,492 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,432,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,489,000 after buying an additional 956,001 shares during the period. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd raised its position in iHeartMedia by 6.6% in the first quarter. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd now owns 10,262,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,265,000 after purchasing an additional 630,976 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in iHeartMedia by 3.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,906,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,946,000 after purchasing an additional 118,163 shares during the period. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 14.6% during the second quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,660,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,994,000 after acquiring an additional 338,726 shares in the last quarter. 80.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. 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 live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents approximately 120 syndicated radio programs and services to approximately 6,400 radio station affiliates.