With the financial markets continuing their wild swings this week, shares of Live Nation stock rode the same rollercoaster and today, August 19, it dipped below its 52-week low of $8.29 for a brief period.
The stock, which trades under the symbol LYV, fluctuated between $8.22 and $8.76 per share throughout the day. But, it ended up closing at $8.44, down $0.14 from the previous day’s close of $8.58.
Trading volume was down to about 1.5 million shares from its three-month average of just under 1.8 million, and the company’s market capitalization is $1.57 billion. Live Nation’s debt remains at a staggering $1.7 billion.
To date, Live Nation’s stock price is down nearly 25 percent compared to the beginning of the year.
The stock remains a “hold” for most analysts, in part because of the company’s solid second quarter financial performance, where revenues grew more than 20 percent and reached $1.56 billion for the period, compared to the same time frame in 2010.
The company also recorded a profit for the quarter of $13 million, compared to a loss of $32 million for the same period in 2010, primarily due to strong concert ticket sales for many of its shows and amphitheaters.
“[Live Nation’s] strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, impressive record of earnings per share growth and increase in net income,” wrote TheStreet.com. “However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally poor debt management, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow.”
