iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.40 and last traded at $6.1750, with a volume of 77927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IHRT has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered iHeartMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $4.00 to $3.50 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Stock Down 6.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $884.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 60.21 and a beta of 2.33.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.06). iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 12.24% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert W. Pittman bought 32,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $105,521.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,198,545.25. This represents a 0.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Media & Entertainment Investments Ltd acquired a new position in iHeartMedia in the third quarter valued at about $52,061,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,022,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,154,000 after buying an additional 93,757 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,713,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,929,000 after buying an additional 741,736 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in iHeartMedia by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,774,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,701,000 after buying an additional 380,557 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in iHeartMedia by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,989,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,441,000 after purchasing an additional 111,754 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.