Broadcasting Stocks

A COVID-19 treatment from Gilead Sciences that's showing promise as a worthy anti-pandemic treatment helped U.S. financial markets finish the week on a positive note. Beasley Media Group and Entercom were up, following big Thursday dips. But, iHeartMedia was down slightly.

It's another episode of "Wall Street Weak" for two of the nation's largest audio media companies. On a day full of red, both Beasley Media Group and Entercom Communications experienced sharp day-over-day decreases in their respective stock values.

The novel coronavirus' surge in cases across key states including California, Arizona, South Carolina and Florida is making Wall Street investors a little bit nervous. The Dow Industrials fell 1.5% to 25,890.18 on Tuesday, while Nasdaq was down 0.9% to 10,343.89. For media stocks, most were in the red. One stands out for a gain: The E.W. Scripps Co.

By mid-April, Beasley Broadcast Group stock was firmly in the mid-$2 range. Then, on June 16 and again on June 19, Beasley gained attention for big spikes in value that brought shares back to pre-COVID valuations. It appears the rally was short-lived. With Monday's trading now complete, shares appear to be heading toward a 10-week low.

One month from Wednesday, the nation's largest owner of broadcast TV stations will deliver its second quarter financial report card. Will it trigger another dip in share value, or will the results help propel the company's stock back above the $100 mark?

As the 11am hour neared on Thursday, Entercom Communications shares began to climb in value. By 2:07pm Eastern, ETM was up by more than 9%. It's the volume that deserves the most attention.

It looks like the second Monday in August could be a busy one for Wall Street analysts that follow media companies. ViacomCBS will release its second quarter earnings on that date, and at the same time make a CFO transition. August 10 will also see the release of TEGNA's Q2 2020 results.

It's June 30, and that marks the end of fiscal 2020 for many business. And, it marked a good day for media stocks on Wall Street.

For those with a magnifying glass on Urban One's Class A shares, take note: While the heat is certainly coming off of a steamy stock surge, the media company superserving African American customers still has plenty of upside when it comes to its Wall Street performance in the last four weeks.

Record cases in Florida. Closed bars in Texas. The novel coronavirus' spread continues in the Sun Belt, and that's worrying Wall Street. The Dow Industrials fell 2.8% on Friday, as the Nasdaq index was down 2.6%. How did media stocks fare?

Meredith intends to use the net proceeds of the Senior Notes offering and incremental term loans, along with cash on hand, to redeem in full the outstanding Series A Preferred Stock and to pay fees and expenses related to the redemption, the Senior Notes offering and the borrowing of the incremental loans.

On May 21, it appeared that Entercom shares were starting their big comeback from COVID-19 fueled lows that put ETM as low as $0.77 in early April. By June 8, a $2.45 finish was seen for the issue, traded on the NYSE. With Thursday's close, one may begin to wonder if renewed COVID-19 concerns, and their impact on pro sports, are weighing heavily on Entercom.

The enormous growth seen by Urban One has led seven company directors to sell shares and/or exercise options, "given the movement in the price" of both the company's Class D and Class A shares. The media company superserving African American audiences on Monday saw more volatile activity, with Class A shares dipping by nearly 50% before an after-hours rise.

Some industry observers speculated that Friday's big jump in value for Beasley Broadcast Group shares was thanks to day traders, and was not a sign of a fast-track to long-term recovery for a deeply undervalued broadcast media issue. It turns out that day traders just may have left their mark on BBGI.

Is it day traders seeking a good value? Or, is it something more? Whatever it is, it has people talking about Beasley Media Group's stock price. Through the morning on Friday, BBGI had rocketed up to more than $5 a share before slightly receding from its session peak. The closing price was slightly lower, but still a move in the right direction.