Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Makes New $2.20 Million Investment in iHeartMedia, Inc. $IHRT

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 528,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IHRT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 99.8% in 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in iHeartMedia by 22.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,872,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after buying an additional 532,414 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in iHeartMedia in the first quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in iHeartMedia by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,822,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,968,000 after buying an additional 186,402 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in iHeartMedia by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 11,101 shares during the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

Shares of IHRT opened at $3.99 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $4.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.89. The company has a market capitalization of $603.09 million, a P/E ratio of -2.17 and a beta of 2.21. iHeartMedia, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.54 and a fifty-two week high of $6.56.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.12). iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 7.28% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $884.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.50 million. Analysts forecast that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

iHeartMedia 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.