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Investing.com -- Moffett Nathanson began coverage of Live Nation with a Buy rating and a $195 price target saying that even with the stock near all-time highs, the company’s earnings can continue to grow at a double-digit pace as live music demand expands globally.
The firm calls Live Nation the dominant player in a structurally growing $35 billion concert industry, with powerful tailwinds, artists relying more on touring, global streaming making new acts discoverable faster, and consumer spending on live events rising worldwide.
Moffett projects adjusted operating income to grow 15% annually through 2027 in its base case, and up to 20% in a bull scenario, driven by strong promotion, ticketing volume and international expansion.
The bigger question, in their view, is what needs to happen for shares to rise further from here. Moffett says upside is achievable not through a speculative blue-sky scenario, but through simply maintaining current momentum, gaining more share overseas and extracting more data-driven revenue per show.
Valuation remains elevated as the stock trades at roughly 13.5 times 2027 earnings. But the analysts believe growth expectations are realistic and point to Live Nation having delivered over a decade of consistent double-digit AOI growth, even accelerating post-pandemic.
The biggest risk remains U.S. antitrust litigation tied to Ticketmaster, which is heading toward a 2026 federal trial. A forced split could change the story, but Moffett calls that outcome extreme.
Until then, the analysts see the structural trends in live entertainment continuing to favor Live Nation, even from current levels.