Morgan Stanley Upgrades Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) to “Overweight”

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $9.60 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $8.30.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MLCO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $13.75 to $14.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Melco Resorts & Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $13.82.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Up 2.3 %

MLCO stock opened at $8.02 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.79. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 12 month low of $6.10 and a 12 month high of $13.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.02. Melco Resorts & Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 7.61% and a negative net margin of 4.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.14) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Melco Resorts & Entertainment will post 0.29 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Melco Resorts & Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MLCO. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 268.5% in the fourth quarter. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd now owns 1,819,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325,878 shares during the period. Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 247.0% in the third quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,809,000 after acquiring an additional 849,949 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 77.1% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 179,070 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 116,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 107.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,914,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,940,000 after acquiring an additional 992,813 shares during the period. 39.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Company Profile

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Limited, through its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates casino gaming and entertainment casino resort facilities in Asia. It owns and operates City of Dreams, an integrated casino resort that has 500 gaming tables and 800 gaming machines; approximately 1,400 hotel rooms and suites; a wet stage performance theater with approximately 2,000 seats; approximately 30 restaurants and bars, and 150 retail outlets; and recreation and leisure facilities, including health and fitness clubs, swimming pools, spa and salons, and banquet and meeting facilities.