A private message in 2022 between two executives read... These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them.

A Beloved Pop Star Helped Double This Stock in Almost Two Years By Ethan Goldman, analyst, Chaikin Analytics A private message in 2022 between two executives read...   These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them. Ben Baker sent this message to his colleague Jeff Weinhold. Both men were regional ticketing directors for Live Nation Entertainment (LYV). Baker continued to brag about the company's high parking fees. The executive boasted about charging folks $50 to park in the grass for events. He got a kick out of charging $60 for what he said was "closer grass." As Baker said in another message...   Robbing them blind, baby... that's how we do it. Today, Baker leads the Live Nation team responsible for about 150 venues. And in an ironic turn of events, he was recently expected to testify in a federal antitrust trial. You see, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") sued Live Nation over an alleged illegally monopoly. The suit reached a tentative settlement earlier this week... but it's not all over yet. Individual U.S. states involved in the suit said they would keep up the legal fight. Folks, I'm not a lawyer. But I doubt those messages helped Live Nation's case. However, there's an interesting story about how the lawsuit started. And Live Nation's stock price might confirm that those messages were more than just jokes between coworkers... Recommended Links: The Man Who Made $4.6 Million in 24 Hours Issues New Warning Ken Fisher says it's "too weird and mystical," and NPR dubs it "voodoo science." But Greg Diamond – who has identified 41 chances to double your money or better – says this obscure strategy is critical to making money from market volatility. As the U.S.-Iran conflict deepens, Greg can show you how to leverage this strategy in your trading account. Click here for more details. What You Missed Yesterday Jeff Brown has personally witnessed at least five major tech disruptions. These disruptors soared 2,150% and even 7,500%. And his bearish calls fell 65%, 69%, 98%, and 99.5%. Now, Jeff believes Nvidia is about to trigger the biggest disruption yet – and he has come up with a unique way to prepare. Click here for more details. Ticket Problems for a Huge Tour Helped Spur the Live Nation Lawsuit At the start of November 2022, music superstar Taylor Swift announced her "Eras Tour." Without getting into the details, it featured music from her entire career. And it marked her biggest tour yet. Of course, the tour was a big deal for her loyal fanbase... A presale for the tour started on November 15, 2022. And Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster sold the tickets. That day, massive demand crashed Ticketmaster's website. Many fans saw incredibly long wait times – if they even managed to get tickets. In short, 1.5 million fans were supposed to have access to the presale. Instead, 14 million people and bots surged in and took Ticketmaster's system by surprise... This led Ticketmaster to cancel the general sale to Swift's tour due to "extraordinarily high demand" on November 17. The announcement caused Live Nation's stock to drop by 8% the next day. Not long afterward, U.S. senators chastised a Live Nation executive for the ticket fiasco during a Senate Judiciary hearing. They mentioned claims that the company had a history of pressuring competitors in order to win new business. And they called Live Nation a monopoly. The DOJ eventually got involved in investigating Live Nation for potential anticompetitive practices. Live Nation's stock was already struggling before this debacle. But Swift's Eras Tour might have saved it from further decline... Swift's Tour Gave Live Nation's Power Gauge Rating a Boost You see, Swift's Eras Tour started on March 17, 2023. It ran until December 8, 2024. While the tour ran its nearly two-year course, Live Nation's share price roughly doubled. It wasn't a straight line up. But in the chart below, you can see the overall move higher... Swift also added show locations as the tour went on. So Live Nation benefited from additional revenue from the extra shows. Overall, the Eras Tour sold more than 10 million tickets. The tour's ticket sales brought in roughly $2 billion. As you can see in the chart above, Live Nation's stock was under pressure leading up to the start of the Eras Tour. Throughout that decline, it spent most of its time in "neutral" territory in the Power Gauge. But things changed when the tour kicked off... Live Nation soon flipped into "bullish" territory in the Power Gauge. And our system only flashed a "bearish" rating once for the stock during the entire span of the tour. After the tour ended, Live Nation's stock largely kept its strength through the first several weeks of 2025. After a dip in February and March last year, it resumed its move higher. Then, Live Nation's stock came under pressure again starting in mid-September. And since then, it has been stuck in "neutral" or "bearish" territory in the Power Gauge. Today, the stock gets a "neutral-" grade from our system. This rating happens when a "bearish" or worse stock trades above its long-term trend line. As I noted, the DOJ reached a tentative settlement earlier this week in the Live Nation lawsuit. But the company might not be out of the woods yet. A definitive settlement could send the stock in either direction fast. And if Live Nation's legal struggles continue, that could also spell problems for the stock. Either way, the Power Gauge says there are far better places to invest your money today than Live Nation. Good investing, Ethan Goldman Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 -1.54% 6 18 6 S&P 500 -1.52% 80 285 134 Nasdaq -1.72% 17 51 32 Small Caps -2.15% 349 1106 427 Bonds -0.2% — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks are somewhat Bearish. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +1.82% Utilities -0.85% Consumer Staples -1.36% Information Technology -1.67% Materials -2.26% Health Care -2.44% Communication -2.68% Real Estate -2.77% Industrials -3.96% Consumer Discretionary -4.32% Financial -4.68% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Health Care Equipment Services 6 35 24 Over the past 6 months, the Health Care Equipment subsector (XHE) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -2.34%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #17 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 1 slot over the past week. Indicative Stocks ZBH Zimmer Biomet Holdin BDX Becton, Dickinson an BAX Baxter International *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers CF +13.21% LYB +10.33% DOW +9.34% MOS +7.58% OXY +5.09% Losers CRL -9.62% Q -7.94% EL -7.92% CCL -7.89% IP -7.79% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close Earnings Surprises DG Dollar General Corporation Q4 $1.93 Beat by $0.29 DKS DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. Q4 $3.45 Beat by $0.48 LEN Lennar Corporation Q1 $0.88 Missed by $-0.07 ADBE Adobe Inc. Q1 $6.06 Beat by $0.19 ULTA Ulta Beauty, Inc. Q0 $8.01 Missed by $-0.03 *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at katzronnie7@gmail.com. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call +1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. 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