Chicago-based Ariel Investments trimmed its stake in Sphere Entertainment by more than 700,000 shares, or 22% of its position, during the first quarter, according to a Thursday SEC filing. It leaves the asset manager with 8.6% of Sphere’s Class A shares, down from 11.1%; Ariel still ranks as the third largest institutional holder.
Sphere’s shares have been on a tear, up 42% year-to-date and 455% from its 2025 April low, when leisure stocks were dragged down by an escalating trade war, and Sphere faced potential bankruptcy for its MSG Networks division.
MSG Networks and its lenders ultimately completed a debt restructuring that had lenders forgo $514 million of the original $804 million in debt. Sphere has crushed earnings estimates in recent quarters, fueled by its latest Sphere Experience hit, The Wizard of Oz. The reimagined 1939 film classic, which hit Sphere’s screens in August 2025, generated more than $260 million in ticket sales during its first five months.
Sphere Entertainment has also made progress this year on James Dolan’s vision for a global network of Sphere venues. In January, it announced plans for its second U.S.-based venue located in Maryland’s National Harbor, 15 minutes south of Washington, D.C. It will be a smaller-scale Sphere with a capacity of 6,000 seats. The Vegas Sphere has 17,600 seats and can hold up to 20,000 people.
