Live Nation Stock Slides Amid Reports of Imminent DOJ Antitrust Suit

Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) shares tumbled more than 8% in premarket trading Thursday after Bloomberg reported late Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a group of states plan to launch an antitrust suit against the Ticketmaster parent, potentially leading to a breakup of company.

A suit relating to Ticketmaster’s dominance of concert ticket sales is expected to be filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, with potential remedies including a breakup of Live Nation, people familiar with the case told Bloomberg.

News of looming litigation comes a little over a month after Live Nation shares plunged following a Wall Street Journal report that the DOJ was preparing an antitrust lawsuit against the ticket seller, alleging that it used its dominance in the marketplace to undermine competition for ticketing live events.

The company, which the DOJ gave conditional approval to merge with Ticketmaster in 2010, has faced constant criticism since that time from lawmakers about high prices, poor customer service, and monopolistic practices. Calls to re-examine the tie-up intensified in 2022 after the ticketing giant botched sales to Taylor Swift’s “Era” concert tour, leaving some concertgoers in online queues for up to eight hours.

If the Live Nation antitrust suit goes ahead, it marks the latest action pursued by the Biden administration to facilitate more competition across various industries spanning from big tech to healthcare to groceries.

Monitor This Key Level Amid News-Driven Selling

Since bottoming out in late April last year, Live Nation shares have trended mostly higher, with the 50-day moving average (MA) crossing above the 200-day MA in mid-June to generate a golden cross — a chart pattern that technical analysts interpret as indicating the start of a new uptrend.

Following a significant retracement last month, the price has regained momentum to now trade back above the 50-day MA. However, the antitrust report looks likely to shift sentiment back in favor of the bears, with the stock set to open well into the red this morning. 

Amid ongoing news-driven selling, investors should monitor the $91 level, an area on the chart where the price finds support from a multi-month trendline that aligns closely with the 200-day MA. A failure to hold this important level could see the shares fall to longer-term support around $81.75.

Live Nation shares were down 8.3% at $93.00 around three hours before Thursday’s opening bell.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.