Live Nation, MSG and Other Live-Event Stocks Rise on ‘Encouraging’ Omicron News

On a day when global stock markets rebounded from a rocky prior week, companies related to out-of-home entertainment did particularly well. Shares of Live Nation rose 6.1% to $107.11 on Monday after dipping below $100 on Friday (Dec. 3) for the first time since Oct. 29. After a 186% spike to an all-time high of $127.75 following positive third-quarter earnings on Nov. 5, Live Nation shares tumbled following the Astroworld festival tragedy and revelations that the omicron variant of the coronavirus had spread through Europe and North America, the company’s strongest regions.

Comments by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who called initial data on the omicron variant’s severity “encouraging,” helped other music-related stocks rise, too: MSG Entertainment gained 4.3% to $69.06; CTS Eventim improved 2.4% to 58.06 euros; and ticketing companies Eventbrite and Vivid Seats jumped 5.6% and 2.4%, respectively. Travel and hospitality companies also benefitted from investors’ allayed fears. Many airlines, hotel companies, casino operators, cruise liners and travel booking companies posted mid- to high-single-digit gains on Monday after taking a beating the previous week.

The World Health Organization listed omicron as a “variant of interest” on Nov. 26 for mutations that scientists believe increase the rate of transmissibility. President Biden and other world leaders immediately restricted international travel out of caution, raising investors’ concerns that at-risk businesses would continue to suffer from COVID protocols that limit travel and lead consumers to stay home rather than attend concerts, visit theme parks and go to movie theaters. But in recent days some experts have said existing boosters should be effective at reducing the omicron variant’s spread and resulting hospitalization rate.