Live Nation closed 15% up on Friday: Is it justified?

Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE: LYV) reported a blowout quarter and upbeat guidance last night that saw the stock celebrate all Friday and close up about 15%.

Josh Brown says the move is justified

On CNBC’s “Halftime Report”, Ritholtz Wealth Management’s Josh Brown said the move was “very justified” considering the strong results and outlook.

17 million fans attended their shows in Q3. Overall ticket sales for major festivals were up 10% versus 2019; not versus the pandemic but versus the last normal year. So, Live is not just trying to get back to where they were, they’re accelerating through that.

Live Nation Entertainment generated $2.7 billion in revenue in Q3 that handily beat the FactSet consensus of $1.92 billion. It earned 19 cents per share – a massive improvement from last year’s $2.45 in per-share “loss” due to the global pandemic that restricted live events for months.  

Including the price action on Friday, the stock is now up over 75% on a year-to-date basis.

Gina Sanchez sees more upside in LYV

Other reasons Brown likes LYV include the stronger than ever demand. According to the entertainment company, it has already sold 22 million tickets for events scheduled in 2022.  

In a separate interview on CNBC’s “TechCheck”, Chantico Global’s Gina Sanchez also said Live Nation had a lot more to run.

There’s this pent-up demand for any sort of entertainment that doesn’t happen on a small screen. So, live entertainment is where people are going. I think Live Nation is still priced well enough to have more room to run now that the earnings are getting behind the story.

On top of selling more tickets, Live Nation also said fans were spending about 20% more at the venue compared to the 2019 equivalent.