Live Nation break-up ‘unlikely,’ says Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley notes that The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg each have reported that the Department of Justice is preparing to bring a lawsuit against Live Nation as soon as next month, though the nature of any potential case “remains highly uncertain, and will remain so until the DOJ brings a lawsuit.” The firm, which says it understands that Live Nation continues to work cooperatively with the DOJ as part of its ongoing investigation and continue to see a hypothetical break-up as “an unlikely outcome,” notes that its bear case sum-of-the-parts math implies a range of $70-105 per share in such a break-up scenario. The firm maintains an Overweight rating and $120 price target on Live Nation shares, which are down $9.02, or 9%, to $90.75 in pre-market trading.