Live Nation posts Q2 beat on strong concert demand; shares slide
BUZZ-Live Nation posts Q2 beat on strong concert demand; shares slide ** Live Nation Entertainment's LYV.N shares down 6% to $172.48 on Fri despite qtrly results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations
** LYV late Thurs reported Q2 rev grew 9% yr/yr to $7.67 bln beating consensus of $7.56 bln, per LSEG, driven by strong global demand for concerts and live events
** Concert sales, which comprise more than 80% of LYV's top line, rose 8%
** Adj EPS of $1.05 handily beat $0.66 modeled by analysts
** Co said concerts adj operating income decreased 14% yr/yr to $310 mln due to timing of stadium shows, venue pre-opening costs, and investments in new international festivals
** At least 3 brokers raised PTs after the results: Deutsche Bank to $205 from $185; Bernstein to $215 from $200; Oppenheimer to $210 from $200
** Of 24 brokers covering the stock, recommendation breakdown is 6 "strong buy", 12 "buy", 5 "hold", 1 "sell"; median PT $195
** With the decline, stock up ~21% YTD, well outperforming ~8.5% gain in the S&P 500 .SPX. Stock ~8% below record intraday high of $188 achieved on Jul 6
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))