Live Nation insider James Kahan bought 4,500 shares of the concert promotion and ticketing company at $61.54 on Nov. 6. Kahan, a director at Live Nation, Inc. (LYV) since 2007, last bought LYV stock at $8.40 in August of 2010. LYV closed Friday at $63.16. Kahan’s Live Nation insider buying represents a reversal: He was a seller in 2013 and 2015.
| Filing Date | Company | Symbol | Transaction | Trade Date | Shares | Avg. Price | Total | Return |
| 08-Nov-2019 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 06-Nov-2019 | 4,500 | 61.54 | $ 276,925 | |
| 11-Jun-2015 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Sale | 11-Jun-2015 | 25,000 | 29 | $ 725,000 | -94% |
| 09-Aug-2013 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Sale | 09-Aug-2013 | 35,000 | 18.63 | $ 652,050 | -202% |
| 17-Jun-2013 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Sale | 13-Jun-2013 | 36,500 | 15.28 | $ 557,720 | -269% |
| 16-Aug-2010 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 13-Aug-2010 | 5,200 | 8.38 | $ 43,571 | 586% |
| 16-Aug-2010 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 13-Aug-2010 | 10,000 | 8.45 | $ 84,501 | 580% |
| 20-May-2009 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 18-May-2009 | 11,300 | 5.03 | $ 56,839 | 1182% |
| 05-Mar-2009 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 04-Mar-2009 | 20,000 | 2.8 | $ 56,000 | 2255% |
| 05-Mar-2009 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 04-Mar-2009 | 10,000 | 2.8 | $ 28,000 | 2255% |
| 26-Nov-2008 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 25-Nov-2008 | 5,000 | 3.35 | $ 16,750 | 1869% |
| 12-Nov-2008 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 10-Nov-2008 | 5,000 | 8.97 | $ 44,850 | 635% |
| 17-Mar-2008 | Live Nation, Inc. | LYV | Market Purchase | 13-Mar-2008 | 5,000 | 11.16 | $ 55,803 | 403% |
The Live Nation insider buying by Kahan came as LYV dropped from all-time highs after a Q3 revenue shortfall.
Kahan’s Live Nation insider purchases came after LYV dropped over 12% in the wake of disappointing 3rd quarter earnings reported on Oct. 31. The company fell short of Wall Street’s projections for earnings and revenue. The culprit behind LYV’s Q3 shortfall appeared to be concert revenue. Analysts expectations were for concert revenue of $3.5 billion, but actual concert revenue was $3.17 billion, down from $3.3 billion in the same period of 2018.
Nonetheless, Live Nation reported $8.7 billion in revenue for the first three quarters of 2019, a 6% increase from the same time last year. Also, the live event promoter and owner of Ticketmaster, posted its highest operating income and adjusted operating income quarter ever from July 1-Sept. 30 with $260 million and $427.1 million respectively.
Year-to-date, LYV stock is up 28% even after the recent decline.
John Malone’s Liberty Media owns 32% of Live Nation Inc.
Live Nation is 32% owned by Liberty Media, the company controlled by media billionaire John Malone. The company is part of a large portfolio of media operations owned by Liberty.
Malone, once known as “The King of Cable,” sold cable company TCI to AT&T for more than $50 billion in 1999. He parlayed the capital from this sale into an ongoing series of media deals with complicated corporate structures designed to maximize profits and minimize taxes. Forbes estimates Malone’s personal fortune at $7 billion. Liberty first bought a stake in LYV in Jan. of 2010 at just over $10.
Live Nation insider James Kahan became a director of that company in 2007. According to LYV’s website, Mr. Kahan is a former executive of AT&T where he spent nearly 38 years. At AT&T and its predecessors, he oversaw approximately $300 billion of acquisitions and divestitures, including the acquisitions of Pacific Telesis (1997), Southern New England Telecommunications (1998), Ameritech (1999) and the former AT&T Corp. (2005), as well as Cingular Wireless’ acquisition of AT&T Wireless (2004). He was also responsible for AT&T’s acquisition of BellSouth Corp. in 2006. Mr. Kahan serves as a director of Amdocs Ltd. and a number of private companies.
It should be noted that Kahan’s Live Nation insider buying comes as the company prepares to present at Liberty Media’s Investor Meeting on Thursday, November 21 in New York City.
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