Granted, it would be easy to think that trying to sell concert tickets would be a tough haul these days, when uncertainty looms everywhere, and eggs are running over $6 a dozen in many places. But for ticket vendor Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), it may be brighter days ahead. So believes the reporting from several different analysts, all of whom calling Live Nation a buying opportunity. And buy investors did, somewhat. Live Nation shares ticked up fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
The surprisingly upbeat reporting began with David Karnovsky, JPMorgan analyst, who has nearly a five-star rating on TipRanks,noted that concerts may be a “discretionary purpose,” but he looks for a recovery in Live Nation nonetheless.
After all, Karnovsky noted, Live Nation shares are down nearly 19% over the last month, which is close to three times the amount the total S&P 500 is down at about 6.5%. Thus, Karnovsky offered up a $170 per share price target on Live Nation with a rating of Overweight. Karnovsky was not alone here, either, as analysts from Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs also offered up word about Live Nation, citing similar factors in their belief that concerts are a sufficiently unusual animal to defy general market conditions.
A Non-Alcoholic Surprise
In fact, Live Nation may understand all too well the environment under which it labors, and is working to improve the environment accordingly. Live Nation recently got together with Athletic Brewing to bring its line of non-alcoholic beverages to Live Nation venues.
Essentially, there were shockingly few options on hand for those who did not want to get drunk at a concert, and thus, Live Nation moved to fill the gap. With increasing numbers of concertgoers looking to enjoy the experience without alcohol, this represented an opportunity. And Live Nation brought in Athletic Brewing to cover a gap. One study found that 98% of venues had at least one option without alcohol, but simply were not telling anyone about it. This move gives Live Nation a reason to highlight its options more closely.
Is Live Nation a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on LYV stock based on 14 Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 15.33% rally in its share price over the past year, the average LYV price target of $169.07 per share implies 38.13% upside potential.
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