Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $9.60 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $8.30. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 25.16% from the company’s current price.

MLCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $13.75 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Melco Resorts & Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.82.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of MLCO opened at $7.67 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of -18.26 and a beta of 1.10. Melco Resorts & Entertainment has a 52-week low of $6.10 and a 52-week high of $13.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Melco Resorts & Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd lifted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 268.5% during the fourth quarter. TORQ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT HK Ltd now owns 1,819,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,140,000 after buying an additional 1,325,878 shares in the last quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 247.0% during the third quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 1,194,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,809,000 after buying an additional 849,949 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 77.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after buying an additional 179,070 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 116,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Melco Resorts & Entertainment by 107.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,914,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,940,000 after buying an additional 992,813 shares in the last quarter. 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.