Should I Buy IHRT? IHRT 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy iHeartMedia Inc (IHRT) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Sell

Latest Price

3.110

1 Day change

-2.51%

52 Week Range

5.440

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/29

IHRT is not a good buy right now for a beginner, long-term investor with $50k–$100k who wants to act immediately. Despite being extremely oversold, the primary trend is still bearish (weak momentum and recent -5.9% drop), revenue is shrinking, profitability remains negative, and the latest analyst change includes a downgrade to Sell. With no Intellectia buy signals today (AI Stock Picker: none; SwingMax: none), there isn’t a high-conviction edge to step in immediately—so the better call is to avoid/exit rather than buy.

Technical Analysis

Trend/momentum is still bearish. MACD histogram is negative (-0.0661) and expanding downward, which typically signals downside momentum is strengthening. RSI(6) at 15.57 is deeply oversold, which can produce short, sharp bounces, but oversold alone is not a durable long-term entry signal when MACD is deteriorating. Price (~3.25 close) is below the pivot (3.606) and is hovering near support: S1=3.291 (already slightly under/around it) and S2=3.096. Immediate upside resistance sits at 3.606–3.921; a failed bounce into that zone would be consistent with a continuing downtrend.

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Options positioning is mixed but skewed risk-off in positioning: open interest put/call is extremely high (8.34), suggesting heavy outstanding downside hedging/speculation. However, same-day trading flow is the opposite (put/call volume 0.03; calls 175 vs puts 5), implying traders are mostly buying calls today (often short-term bounce bets). Implied volatility is very high (30D IV ~109% vs HV ~119%), consistent with a high-risk, swingy stock rather than a stable long-term compounder.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Technical mean-reversion potential: RSI is extremely oversold, increasing odds of a short-term bounce.
- Next earnings catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 (after hours). If advertising trends or the Multiplatform/Podcasting trajectory surprises positively, the stock can re-rate quickly.
- Prior commentary (earlier notes) referenced cost efficiencies and improving advertising backdrop, which can help results if sustained.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

citing concerns on long-term audio consumption and advertising trends.

Financial Performance

Latest reported quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue was $997.01M, down -1.10% YoY (top-line contraction). Profitability improved but remains negative: Net income was -$66.26M (improved +60.58% YoY) and EPS was -$0.43 (improved +59.26% YoY). Gross margin improved to 50.93% (+3.31% YoY). Overall: margins and losses are improving, but the company is still losing money and revenue is not growing—weak setup for a beginner long-term buy today.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: ratings/targets were raised in Nov 2025 (Goldman to Neutral with PT $4 from $1.25; BofA maintained Neutral and raised PT to $5 from $3), but the most recent update is negative—Goldman downgraded IHRT to Sell on 2026-01-09 with a $3.50 target (cut from $4), citing valuation after the 2025 run-up and concerns that changing audio consumption and advertising trends reduce the ability to sustain multi-platform growth. Wall Street pros: (1) improving cost visibility/efficiencies, (2) diversified revenue streams/podcasting partnerships and programmatic initiatives, (3) potential upside if ad market holds. Wall Street cons: (1) secular pressure from shifting audio consumption, (2) advertising cyclicality and uncertainty, (3) valuation and sustainability concerns after a big prior run, (4) still negative earnings. Influential/politician activity: No recent congress trading data available; hedge funds and insiders are described as Neutral with no significant recent trend.

4 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast IHRT stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IHRT is 4.25 USD with a low forecast of 3.5 USD and a high forecast of 5 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

0 Buy

2 Hold

2 Sell

Moderate Sell

Current: 3.190

Low

3.5

Averages

4.25

High

Current: 3.190

Low

3.5

Averages

4.25

High

Goldman Sachs

Neutral -> Sell

downgrade

AI Analysis

2026-01-09

Reason

Goldman Sachs

Price Target

AI Analysis

2026-01-09

downgrade

Neutral -> Sell

Reason

Goldman Sachs downgraded iHeartMedia to Sell from Neutral with a price target of $3.50, down from $4. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade with the shares up 123% in 2025. Goldman has "growing concerns" that changing audio consumption and advertising trends have reduced the opportunity for iHeartMedia to sustain sales multi-platform audio trends.

BofA

Jessica Reif Ehrlich

Neutral

maintain

$3 -> $5

2025-11-13

Reason

BofA

Jessica Reif Ehrlich

Price Target

$3 -> $5

2025-11-13

maintain

Neutral

Reason

BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich raised the firm's price target on iHeartMedia to $5 from $3 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm increased its multiple to reflect diversified revenue streams from new podcasting partnerships and broadcast programmatic, but awaits "concrete signs of a true inflection" in the Multiplatform Group, the analyst tells investors.

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IHRT Should I Buy

IHRT Should I Buy

Should You Buy iHeartMedia Inc (IHRT) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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