SiriusXM stock price continues to rise ahead of stock merger, Deezer sees big gains

Heading into all music stocks this week, SiriusXM shares rose as high as $4.14 on Friday (July 5), their highest since March 13, and closed at $3.71, up 31.1% . The satellite radio company, which also owns music streaming service Pandora and has high hopes for its revamped SiriusXM streaming app, is likely to benefit from an upcoming 10-to-1 stock flip and merger with Liberty Media's SiriusXM Group tracking stock. The merger eliminates any confusion among investors by creating only one way to invest in SiriusXM. And although the split doesn't affect the company's value, it will increase the stock price by reducing the number of shares outstanding. That, in turn, could help SiriusXM's image with investors and further support the stock price.

French streaming company Deezer rose 20.3% to 2.07 euros ($2.25) after completing its public offering which transferred shares from the professional to the general section of Euronext Paris. (The professional sector is dedicated to companies that have not had an initial public offering or share sale. Deezer gained entry to Euronext Paris through a merger with I2PO, a special purpose buyout company, in 2022.) With this improvement, Deezer's year -The year-to-date loss improved to 12.3% from 19.2% a week ago. The company will present its first half results on July 30.

The Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) rose 1.6% to 1,844.87, nearly equaling its all-time high of 1,847.64 set in the week ended May 17, with big gains enjoyed by SiriusXM and Deezer offsetting losses by 11 of the 20 stocks in the index. The index's most valuable companies had small gains this week: Live Nation rose 1.7% to $95.34, Universal Music Group rose 0.9% to 28.03 euros ($30.41) and Spotify gained 0.8% to end at $316.85.

Music stocks failed to match many major indexes this week. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite gained 3.5% to 18,352.76 and the S&P 500 rose 2.0% to 5,567.19 — both record closes. Stocks were helped by data released Friday by the US Labor Department that showed the economy added more jobs than expected in June, while hourly earnings growth met expectations. The rise in unemployment rate growth from 4.0% to 4.1% was, however, a surprise.

Internationally, the UK's FTSE 100 improved 0.5% to 8,203.93. South Korea's KOSPI composite rose 2.3 percent to 2,862.23. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 percent to 2,949.93.

Sphere Entertainment Co. improved 6.8% to $37.43, bringing the year-over-year gain to 10.1%. On Wednesday (July 3), the company announced that it has named an executive chairman/CEO James Dolan a new three-year employment agreement that runs through June 30, 2027. This ensures that Dolan will continue to oversee Sphere's development in Las Vegas and additional locations targeted by the company. Looking ahead, Dead & Company's 30-show residency at the venue ends on August 10, while the Eagles will begin a 16-day residency — eight Friday and Saturday weekends — on September 20.

Music streaming company LiveOne fell 14.6% to $1.34, sending its stock down 4.3% year-to-date. On Monday (July 1), the company announced a partnership with Seekr to build an AI-powered search engine for beats and sounds. The platform, expected to launch by the end of the year, is intended to help music creators and licensors.

Korean companies continued to struggle this week. HYBE fell 2.5 percent to 197,400 won ($143.30), taking its year-to-date loss to 15.5 percent. SM Entertainment fell 3.5% to 77,600 won ($56.33) and is down 15.7% in 2024. Two K-pop companies not on the Billboard Global Music Index fared even worse: JYP Entertainment, which hosts TWICE and Stray Kids, fell 25.8% to earn ($40.43) and is down 45% this year. while YG Entertainment, home to BLACKPINK and BABYMONSTER, fell 5.3% to 38,150 won ($27.69) and has lost 25% year to date.