iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Trading Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Shares of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) were down 5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $3.88 and last traded at $3.7530. Approximately 148,059 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 978,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IHRT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on iHeartMedia from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.25.

iHeartMedia Trading Down 1.9%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.85. The firm has a market cap of $554.72 million, a PE ratio of -1.99 and a beta of 2.19.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $884.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $871.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iHeartMedia, Inc. will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iHeartMedia

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IHRT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 99.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,214,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,654,000 after buying an additional 1,105,976 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,872,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,739,000 after acquiring an additional 532,414 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of iHeartMedia in the 1st quarter valued at about $186,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in iHeartMedia by 7.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,822,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,968,000 after acquiring an additional 186,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in iHeartMedia by 7.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 11,101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

About iHeartMedia

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.