Short Interest in iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) Decreases By 7.9%

iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,730,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the August 31st total of 6,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 685,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

iHeartMedia Stock Performance

Shares of IHRT stock opened at $1.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.88 million, a P/E ratio of -0.31, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.70. iHeartMedia has a fifty-two week low of $0.81 and a fifty-two week high of $3.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.55.

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.31) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $929.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $918.03 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that iHeartMedia will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of iHeartMedia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC purchased a new position in iHeartMedia during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of iHeartMedia by 53.5% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 33,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of iHeartMedia by 100.1% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 50,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 25,266 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in iHeartMedia in the second quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in iHeartMedia by 169.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 39,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 25,001 shares in the last quarter. 93.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of iHeartMedia from $1.70 to $1.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

iHeartMedia Company Profile

iHeartMedia, Inc operates as an audio media company in the United States and internationally. 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 events, and live and virtual events; and operates Premiere Networks, a national radio network that produces, distributes, or represents syndicated radio programs and services to radio station affiliates.