Guggenheim sees StubHub settlement as positive indicator for Live Nation suit

Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker says that according to reports, StubHub (STUB) agreed to pay $10M to settle FTC charges that the company violated federal regulations by not clearly disclosing total ticket prices including mandatory fees. The firm views this as a positive read-through on Live Nation’s (LYV) pending FTC lawsuit filed last September. Since the lawsuit was filed, Live Nation has aggressively acted to choke-off illicit secondary practices. Live Nation has also advocated pro-consumer stances such as supporting all-in pricing, The TICKET Act, and face value caps on reselling tickets. Guggenheim’s view is that Buy-rated Live Nation increasingly stands out as a “good actor” relative to other ticketing platforms, and should be able to resolve the FTC lawsuit this year.